By BY TOM NYHUIS / Niles Daily Star
THREE OAKS – A 16-5 fourth quarter run by Buchanan gave the Bucks their first Lakeland Conference win of the season. The Bucks defeated the River Valley Mustangs 54-35 Friday night.
Marquis Hall led his team with 20 points, with Buddy Williams dumping in 11 and Avery Brown adding 10 for the Bucks. Nate Swords and Jamen Blake each finished with 13 for the Mustangs.
Buchanan held a 15 point lead, 24-9 midway through the second quarter. River Valley closed in on the Bucks in the third to cut the lead to six.
"We kind of took a step back in the third quarter," Buchanan coach Reid McBeth said following the win. "We had a big win Tuesday and I was afraid we might come out flat after a big win like that."
The Mustangs could not get any closer as Buchanan controlled the boards, pulling down 43 rebounds, while the Mustangs could only grab 26 in the game.
"(Nate) Swords is a big and we knew we had to double up on him and we were getting there late. He's not an easy guy to handle. I thought Buddy (Williams) had a great second half for us. He had some big rebounds, played good defense on Swords. I was proud of his effort and when you can get both big men to contribute it's nice," McBeth said.
Buchanan improves to 5-5 and 1-4 in the Lakeland.
Buchanan 14 31 38 54
River Valley 8 22 30 35
Junior varsity
Buchanan's junior varsity got past the Mustangs 47-31 with Daniel Blackwell scoring 15 for the Bucks. Tom Lozmack dropped in 11 for RV.
Freshmen
Buchanan's freshmen started the three game sweep for the Bucks with a 50-21 win. Dane Cauffman scored 11 for the Bucks while Mike Semenic also had 11 for the Mustangs.