By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
BUCHANAN - For the first three periods of Friday night's game between Buchanan and Brandywine, it appeared the Bobcats were going to walk away with a Lakeland Conference win.
Brandywine controlled the game, leading after the first period, at halftime and throughout most of the third quarter. However, the Bucks woke up midway through the third and went on to claim the 70-65 win, improving their record to 6-3 in the LAC, 8-7 overall.
The Bobcats, who fall to 1-8 in the LAC, 3-11 overall, weren't frowning on the loss though. As head coach Nate Knapp said after the game, his team is taking unbelievable steps in the right direction.
The first period saw five lead changes between the two teams, but after the eight minutes were up, the Bobcats had a 17-12 lead.
Buchanan was unable to take a lead at all in the second period, as Brandywine jumped ahead by seven points, 22-15, with 6:34 showing on the clock.
But by halftime, the Bucks were able to cut the lead to three, 29-26.
The Bobcats were able to extend their lead in the first three minutes of the second half, but sophomore Avery Brown set the tone for the Bucks at the 4:19 mark of the third period.
After trailing Brandywine 36-30, Brown bombed a three-pointer to cut the lead to three.
Brandywine was able to hold a small lead with two free throws and a bucket from D.J. Elrod, but eight points from Marquis Hall tied the game at 41 with 2:16 left in the third.
Jeff Kyles added two back-to-back three-pointers to give Buchanan its biggest lead of the night, 47-41.
A last second bucket by Brandywine's Kyle Low posted a 47-43 score heading into the final period of play.
Buchanan was able to hold onto a lead for the rest of the fourth period, although the Bobcats were able to come within two points, 58-56 and 60-58 with over three minutes to play.
If it hadn't been for their advantage, the Bucks may have been in trouble as they only went 4-for-15 at the free throw line in the second half.
In the final 20 seconds of the game, Brandywine cut Buchanan's lead to three, 68-65, on a basket by Caleb Frazier.
But Jeff Kyles, who missed his previous four free throws, went 2-for-2 at the line, sealing the win for the Bucks.
Hall led the Bucks with a career high 26 points on the night.
Brandywine's Caleb Frazier also posted a career best with 25 points.
Other top scorers for Buchanan were Eric Cole with 13 points and Jeff Kyles with 12.
For the Bobcats, Chris Casey had 12 points and Elrod added 11.
Buchanan is back on the court Tuesday when it travels to Berrien Springs for another Lakeland Conference game.
Brandywine will take on Cassopolis at home.
Both games are set to begin at 7:30 p.m.
Junior Varsity
Brandywine's junior varsity basketball team took a 48-46 win over Buchanan Friday evening.
Danny Williams was the leading scorer for the Bobcats with 16 points.
Evan Cauffman and Matt Sebasty both led the Bucks with 12 points each.
Freshmen game
Brandywine's freshmen team was also able to claim a win over Buchanan Friday, 36-30.
Dan Reidenbach led the Bobcats with nine points.
Josh Cecco and Perry Wahlstrom both had 11 points each for the Bucks.