Eddies fall to Bucks
Published 3:54 am Monday, March 3, 2008
By By TOM NYHUIS / Edwardsburg Argus
Fourteen minutes into Monday's Class B quarterfinal game between Buchanan and host Edwardsburg, the Eddies found themselves down by just four points.
Two minutes later it was a 12-point lead for the Bucks to end the first half.
When the final quarter came to a close, it was the Bucks moving on to Wednesday's semifinal game against St. Joseph. Buchanan put an end to the Eddies' season with a 53-37 win.
"You have to show up and be ready to play," Buchanan coach Reid McBeth said following the win. "In the first half I thought we played pretty good defense but you have to give Edwardsburg some credit. Even though we played good defense they were hanging around. We needed to be a little bit stronger with the basketball. I thought we gave them a few gimmies where we just didn't pick up the ball when we could of.
Clinton Orr and Marquis Hall powered the Bucks to the win with Orr leading the way with a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds. Hall added 17 points to the win and pulled down seven rebounds. Buchanan also won the battle off the glass with the Bucks coming away with 33 rebounds to the Eddies 17.
"That first half was key for us, it set the tempo for us a little bit. I didn't know if we were going to come out and be lackadaisical or what. The third time you play someone it not always easy to get that intensity up," McBeth said.
Brian Sevison scored a team-high 12 points for the Eddies, with Jake Harroff canning 10 as Edwardsburg closes out its season with a 4-17 record.
"They are a very good team," Edwardsburg coach Steve Austin said. "They are much more athletic then we are and for us to win we had to control the temple and we had to cut down our turnovers and hit some of the shots that we should have hit. When we don't do that we can't compete. I thought our kids fought hard and they never really gave up but we just did to many things to hurt ourselves. Also the offensive boards really killed us. We didn't box out that's our strength. I thought we did a good job on defensively stopping their sets but for them to come down and get their second and third shots. I tried to tell them we can't jump with them we need to box out. If we try to jump with them they're going to win every time and that's what happened tonight."
Buchanan will take a 16-5 record into Wednesday's 8 p.m. game against the Bears following the Dowagiac-Lakeshore game slated to start at 5:30 p.m.
"A tough team from a tough league. They have been battled tested all year where every opponent they play is a challenge. Our kids are going to have to show up Tuesday and work hard at practice. They know the expectation on Wednesday is going to rise and we are going to have to play some of our best basketball. If we do that we can be competitive with them. I know our kids are going to show up and play hard," McBeth said.
BUCHANAN 53
Derek Anglero 1 2-2 4, Richie Reed 1 0-0 3, Avery Brown 3 0-1 7, Jon Young 0 0-0 0, Bryan Kuntz 0 0-0 0, Marquis Hall 7 3-5 17, Clinton Orr 9 3-4 22. Totals 21 8-12 53
EDWARDSBURG 37
Korey Moore 2 0-0 5, Mike Rangel 0 0-0 0, Adam Young 0 0-0 0, Brian Sevison 5 2-2 12, Brent Shuttleworth 3 2-4 8, John Rosol 0 1-2 1, Jake Harroff 4 2-3 10, Ron Preston 0 1-2 1. Totals 14 8-13 37
Buchanan 14 15 12 12 – 53
Edwardsburg 7 10 8 12 – 37
3-points baskets: Reed (B), Brown (B), Orr (B), Moore (E). Team fouls: Buchanan 16, Edwardsburg 14.Records: Buchanan 16-5, Edwardsburg 4-17