By By DAN WEISS / Niles Daily Star
NILES -- A flurry of turnovers helped Buchanan erase a one-point first-quarter deficit and take a 34-16 lead into halftime on its was to a 76-40 Lakeland Conference victory at Brandywine Tuesday night.
The Bucks, now 3-0 overall and 1-0 in league play, benefitted from a total of 30 Brandywine turnovers, five more than their per-game goal, according to coach Reid McBeth.
Buchanan committed 14 turnovers but was able to stretch the lead in the second half and cruise to the 36-point win.
Brandywine came out on fire as senior Andy Low scored nine of his team-high 11 points in the first quarter to help the Bobcats lead 13-12 at the end of the period.
The second quarter was all Buchanan as the Bobcats began losing their handle on the ball and got an offensive spark off the bench from sophomore Jordan Lee. Lee scored seven of his 10 points in the first two and a half minutes of the second quarter, igniting a 22-3 Buchanan run.
Besides the Bucks' defensive pressure, Brandywine coach Dave Sidenbender looked to his players' decision making as a cause for the lopsided second quarter.
Lee, DuJuan Bennett and Brian Shannon each scored 10 points to lead Buchanan.
Low was Brandywine's only double-figure scorer. Mike Beauchamp helped out with eight points.
Buchanan travels to Berrien Springs Friday night while Brandywine goes to Cassopolis for another Lakeland Conference game.
The Buchanan junior varsity basketball team beat Buchanan 56-30. P.J. Pollock led the Bucks with 15 points. Chris Casey led Brandywine with 14.
Buchanan……76
Brandywine….40
Buchanan: Zach Bonham 1 5-5 7, Tony Robinson 2 4-4 8, DuJuan Bennett 5 0-0 10, Quinton Buish 2 1-2 5, Gordon Bryant 3 2-2 8, Brian Shannon 3 2-2 10, Brandon Kyles 0 0-0 0, Jordan Lee 4 1-2 10, Rodney Tembo 1 0-0 2, Jacob Brown 1 5-6 7, Jared Rusher 2 3-6 7, Karl Schmidt 0 2-4 2. Totals: 24 25-33 76
Brandywine: Casey Udell 3 0-0 6, Justin Sobecki 2 0-1 4, Mike Beauchamp 4 0-0 8, Danny Rauch 0 0-0 0, Andy Low 4 2-4 11, Gene McDonald 0 1-2 1, Alex Newman 0 2-2 2, Zach Bennett 2 0-0 4, Brett Shoemaker 0 0-0 0, Matt Wieger 1 2-3 4. Totals: 16 7-12 40
Buchanan 12 22 17 25--76
Brandywine 13 3 13 11--40
3-point shooting: Buchanan 3 (Shannon 2, Lee), Brandywine 1 (Low). Team fouls (fouled out): Buchanan 18 (none), Brandywine 21 (none). Team records: Buchanan 3-0 (1-0 Lakeland), Brandywine 1-3 (0-1)