By By TOM NYHUIS / Niles Daily Star
BUCHANAN – The Fighting Beavers of Eau Claire came into Buchanan Tuesday night fired up.
The hot-shooting Beavers blistered the nets, sinking 10 3-pointers on their way to a 76-51 non-league win over the Bucks.
"This is the best we have played all year," Eau Claire coach Ken Schmaltz said of the win. "We knew coming in Buchanan had won their last three games. They are a young team and have won five of their last seven coming into tonight's game so we had a lot of concerns. We knew the (Avery) Brown kid could shoot, he's one of the better shooters in the area and (Marquis) Hall is a wide body and a strong kid down low and has good foot work, so we had some area's of concern.
P.J. Patterson, Hazen Harner and Jason Ott carried Eau Claire's scoring attack, sinking 22, 21, and 13 points respectfully and combining for eight of the Beavers' 10 three's in the game.
Eau Claire grabbed an early 17-8 lead after the first eight minutes and never gave the Bucks a second look extending the lead to 38-19 at the break and pushing the lead to 59-34 heading into the final quarter.
"Hazen Harner, I can't say enough about what he brought to the table tonight, 21 points is a career high for him. He just had a heck of a night," Schmaltz said.
Buchanan's scoring attack came from Avery Brown, finishing the night with 16 points, knocking down all four of the Bucks' shots from behind the 3-point line. Marquis Hall added 12 points and Brad Burns finished the night with 12.
Derek Anglero, who has been an offensive threat for the Bucks in their last three games, was not available for Tuesday night's game. The loss for the Bucks snaps a three game win streak.
Buchanan also was hindered by 17 turnovers in the game, while Eau Claire took care of the ball finishing the night with nine. They also controlled the boards, pulling down 35 rebounds to the Bucks' 26.
Buchanan (6-6, 2-4 LAC) will travel to the Bee Hive and take on Bridgman (8-2, 5-0) Friday night.
Eau Claire's junior varsity team slipped past Buchanan 43-42 in the first game of the evening. Richie Reed scored 11 for the Bucks and Keegan Trail had 18 for the Beavers.
Eau Claire … 76
Buchanan … 51
BUCHANAN (51) – Avery Brown 6 0-0 16, Jon Young 0 0-0 0, Clinton Orr 1 4-4 6, Brad Burns 5 1-3 11, Marquis Hall 5 2-3 12, Szabi Kerekes 0 0-2 0, Evan Cauffman 2 0-3 4, Buddy Williams 1 0-0 2, Totals 20 7-15 51.
EAU CLAIRE (76) – Hazen Harner 8 3-4 21, P.J. Patterson 8 3-3 22, Preston Huddleston 2 3-4 7, Jason Ott 5 0-2 13, Mason Moore 1 1-2 3, John Huddleston 1 2-2 5, Tramain Barnett 1 0-0 3, Terrance Lawson 1 0-0 2, Totals 27 12-17 76.
Eau Claire 17 38 59 76
Buchanan 8 19 34 51
Team fouls (fouled out): Eau Claire 15 (none), Buchanan 14 (Orr); 3-point shooting: Eau Claire 10 (Patterson 3, Ott 3, Harner 2, John Huddleston, Tramain Barnett)