By By MICHAEL BASHARA / Niles Daily Star
BUCHANAN -- The Buchanan basketball team used a 44-24 second half to defeat Cassopolis 68-58 in Lakeland Conference action Wednesday night.
The game, which was a makeup contest, was a well-played basketball game all night, and both coaches were satisfied with their teams play.
For Buchanan it was really two different games each half. In the first half Buchanan was badly outrebounded and down by 10. In the second half the Bucks outrebounded Cassopolis and won by 10.
The first quarter was close to a tie. Cassopolis scored first when Garrit Hemme scored inside.
Quinton Buish scored inside for the Bucks to create the first tie score of the game. Tony Robinson, who led all scorers with 19 points, scored inside to give Buchanan its first lead at 4-2.
Cass got a rebounding basket to tie it a 4-4. Cass had a 13-1 lead on offensive boards in the first half, and outrebounded the Bucks 20-5.
Brian Shannon then hit two free throws to tie the game again at 6-6. Shannon then sank a 3-pointer and another free throw around Zach Bonham's first quarter basket to give Buchanan a 12-6 lead.
Hemme hit a 3-pointer to stop the run, and Cassopolis brought in Ashton Danzy and Eric Brown, two starters who sat for most of the first quarter.
Danzy and Brown wasted no time in having an impact on the game. The first quarter ended with Buchanan up 16-15. The second quarter saw Buchanan outscored 19-8 as Brown and Danzy scored most of their combined 27 points in the second period. Cassopolis also got a lot of second shots due to its offensive rebounding.
The second quarter started with Robinson putting down a dunk to extend the lead to 18-15. Buchanan was then up 20-16 when Danzy hit a shot, and then Brown hit a jump shot to tie the game at 20-20. Brown then scored on a rebound to give Cass its first lead at 22-20 midway through the period.
Bonham answered to create another tie at 22-22. Karl Schmidt hit two free throws at 1:30 to make the score 24-29 to stop a 7-0 run and to end Buchanan's scoring for the half.
Brown hit a jump shot and a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Danzy gave Cassopolis a 10-point lead going into the half.
The second half was really all Buchanan. Robinson started the scoring by hitting two free throws. Gordon Bryant hit three 3-pointers in the third-period run. Quinton Buish had several steals and deflections to energize the Bucks.
The fourth quarter saw Buchanan take the lead at 48-47 midway through the period when Jared Rusher scored inside. The game went back and forth a little in the fourth quarter until DuJuan Bennett hit two free throws to break a 51-51 tie at about the midway point.
From that point on Buchanan was never behind. Again fueled by Buish's defense, Buchanan went on a 9-0 run to lead 60-51 before Cass scored again. Bonham score inside twice in the final period and Bryant hit his fourth 3-pointer of the night from the top of the key as time ran out.
The Bucks are now 13-1 for the season and 8-1 in the Lakeland Conference. They are currently ranked seventh in the state. Cassopolis is 6-6 overall and 4-4 in league play.
The junior varsity game was won by Cassopolis, 70-60. Kyle Tracey led the Bucks with 17 points, hitting five 3-pointers, and Eric Cole added 12.
The Buchanan freshmen won 49-41 for a two-game winning streak. Brad Burns led the Bucks with 12 points and Bryant Sears added 10.
Buchanan hosts River Valley on Friday night with the junior varsity game starting at 6 p.m.
Buchanan……68
Cassopolis….58
Buchanan: Brian Shannon 2 4-6 11, Quinton Buish 2 6-6 8, Tony Robinson 7 5-8 19, DuJuan Bennett 0 2-2 2, Brandon Kyles 0 0-0 0, Jacob Brown 0 1-2 1, Gordon Bryant 5 0-0 14, Jared Rusher 1 0-0 2, Karl Schmidt 0 2-2 2, Zach Bonham 4 1-2 9. Totals: 21 21-28 68
Cassopolis: Ashton Danzy 5 1-2 13, Eric Brown 6 1-2 14, Simon Ballard 5 1-2 12, Chris Franklin 0 1-2 1, Mike Evans 0 0-0 0, Justin Lee 0 0-0 0, Garrit Hemme 2 0-0 5, J.T. Lee 2 0-1 5, Will Loux 1 1-2 3, Dan Stanage 2 1-2 5. Totals: 23 6-13 58
Buchanan 16 8 22 22--68
Cassopolis 15 19 12 12--58
3-point shooting: Buchanan 5 (Bryant 4, Shannon), Cassopolis 6 (Danzy 2, Brown, Ballard, Hemme, J.T. Lee). Team fouls (fouled out): Buchanan 16 (none), Cassopolis 22 (Danzy). Team records: Buchanan 13-1 (8-1 Lakeland), Cassopolis 6-6 (4-4)