By TOM NYHUIS
Niles Daily Star

CASSSOPOLIS – A 30-point second quarter by the visiting Buchanan Bucks propelled them to a 68-66 boys’ basketball win at Cassopolis Friday night.

That 30-point quarter burst by the Bucks gave them a 43-31 lead at the half after leading the Rangers by two, 13-11 after the first eight minutes of play.

The Bucks were lead in the quarter by Andrew Hearington who scored 10 of his team-high 13 points. In the quarter Hearington also was given a technical foul for hanging on the rim after a missed dunk attempt. In the first half the Rangers committed 14 turnover that the Bucks converted into 18 points as Buchanan built a 16-point lead with 2:43 to play in the half.

“Turnovers killed us tonight,” Cassopolis coach James Moore stated after the game. “They (Buchanan) surprised me with there pace and they pushed us to a temple that we didn’t anticipate and it made us undisciplined at times. I think we settled down in the second half and we were able to hit the net a little bit and create some opportunities for some of the guys. The Rangers finished the night with 22 turnovers.

“When we were in our zone we created some turnovers,” Buchanan coach Reid McBeth said. “But I wanted them to play some man defense and we did a very poor job of playing man to man defense. In the zone we were trapping and you can only do that for so long before they figure it out. We should be able to play half court man defense and we could not do it today. It is very frustrating.”

In a very fast pace second quarter Buchanan’s Marquis Tyler and Cassopolis’ Tommy First each received a technical foul and each were ejected from the game with 1:40 remaining in the half after a altercation under the Bucks net. On the play Savon Brown was fouled going to the basket and after things were settled Brown hit 1-of-2 free throws to give the Bucks a 38-23.

The Rangers high scorer of the game, Steven Eleazer, cut the lead to 11 with a four-point play hitting a 3-point bomb and on the shot he was fouled sinking the free throw with 1:07 to play in the opening half. Cassopolis had it down to nine before Brandon Jackson knocked down a trey with two seconds left in the half.

Cassopolis trimmed the lead to seven to start the third quarter holding the Bucks scoreless for nearly five minutes. The Rangers didn’t take full advantage of the Bucks second half drought and the Bucks pushed the lead back to 16 with 1:24 to play in the third with Daniel Blackwell scoring all eight of his points scored in the game in the quarter. Buchanan went into the final eight minutes leading 55-42.

In the fourth down the stretch the Rangers made things interesting cutting into the lead as Angelo Burmeister dropped in nine of his 16 points in the final four minutes of the game. 5-of-8 free throw shooting down the stretch by the Bucks was just enough to pick up the win. Nate Hartline lay up as time expired left the Rangers just short of a comeback win. Hartline finished the night with 15.

Cassopolis out rebounded Buchanan 36-25 with Oliver Fiala pulling in a team-high 10.

Tyler, Jalen Brown and Ryan Catalano each finished the night with four boards.

Buchanan 68
Spencer Anglero 0 2-2 2, Dylan Arnold 2 8-10 12, Savon Brown 4 2-4 10, Bryan Kuntz 0 1-4 1, Andrew Hearington 4 3-3 13, Daniel Blackwell 2 3-3 8, Ryan Catalano 2 0-1 4, Jalen Brown 2 0-0 4, Brandon Jackson 1 1-2 4, Marquis Tyler 4 0-0 8, Iziah Dorsey 1 0-0 2 Totals 22 20-29 68
Cassopolis 66
Nate Hartline 5 4-7 15, Steven Eleazer 4 7-10 16, Angelo Burmeister 6 2-4 16, Oliver Fiala 5 0-0 10, Brian Craft 0 0-0 0, Tommy First 2 0-2 4, Dwight Ottman 1 0-0 3, Willie Ellison 1 0-0 2, Tyler Gilliam 0 0-0 0 Totals 24 13-23 66

Buchanan 13 43 55 68
Cassopolis 11 31 42 66
3-point baskets: Buchanan 4 (Hearington 2, Blackwell 1, Jackson 1) Cassopolis 5 (Burmeister 2, Hartline 1, Eleazer 1, Ottman 1). Fouls (fouled out): Buchanan 21 (none) Cassopolis 21 (Eleazer). Technical fouls: Buchanan 2 (Hearington, Tyler) Cassopolis 1 (First). Records: Buchanan 7-5, 4-2 (LAC) Cassopolis 5-8, 2-6 (LAC). Junior Varsity score: Buchanan 55 (Justin Henderson 27) Cassopolis 46 (Dwayne Morgan 15)