By By TOM NYHUIS / Niles Daily Star
BRIDGMAN – Bridgman's off night wasn't enough for the Buchanan Buck varsity basketball team to pull off a Lakeland Conference upset. Bridgman improved to 7-0 in league play with a 48-38 victory over Buchanan Friday night at Bridgman High School.
Buchanan had the Bees' lead cut to one point with 5:38 to play in the third quarter but the Buck's couldn't hold off the Bridgman offense as they rattled off a 11-0 run in the next three minutes to take a 38-26 lead before Buchanan finished out the quarter with a 5-0 run to head into the final quarter down seven, 38-31.
"The last run they had was just a little bit too big for us to over come," Buchanan coach Reid McBeth said. "You know their not going to miss free throws down the stretch. It was a game of runs and I think our kids did a good job."
Buchanan's leading scorer, Derek Anglero with 14, brought the Bucks to within five, 38-33, to start the fourth but Buchanan couldn't close the gap any further. Bridgman hit 8-of-11 free throws in the final eight minutes to hold off the scrappy Bucks team.
"I thought Buchanan played hard and did a nice job tonight," Bridgman coach Mike Miller said. "They out hustled us all evening and that made a difference. They worked harder than us in a lot of different areas. We didn't have a very good focus tonight."
Craig McNees dropped in 13 to lead the Bees with Nick Sweet scoring 11.
Buchanan junior varsity dropped a 48-43 decision to the Bees while the Buchanan freshmen came away with a 48-21 win.