CASSOPOLIS — High school basketball got back to action Friday evening after area events were wiped out earlier in the week due to the heavy snow the area got hit with on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Buchanan traveled to Cassopolis for a varsity doubleheader in which the Rangers soundly defeated the Bucks in girls action 52-36 in the first game of the night.

The Buchanan boys’ team picked up the Lakeland Conference win in the nightcap with a 68-39 thrashing of the Rangers.

The Bucks raced out to an early 6-0 lead before the Rangers could even get their first attempt at a shot. Buchanan extended its lead to a 15-7 lead after one quarter of play.

In the second quarter, after Buchanan had worked its lead to a 13-point advantage, the Rangers’ Tyler Gilliam sank three 3-pointers in a row and cut the Bucks’ lead to four. A time out by Buchanan got the Bucks back on track and went into the intermission with a 32-19 lead.

“Tonight we played as a team,” Cassopolis coach James Moore said. “When we made a stop, Buchanan made one more step to make a big play. Those are the tough ones when you are trying to find your identity. We are making some adjustments trying to find some chemistry. We had confidence earlier but we are struggling with our confidence now. This was a tough one tonight.”

Cassopolis could never find the spark that it needed to make a run at the Bucks, trailing 47-34 heading into the final quarter.

From there the Bucks completely dominated the game outscoring the Rangers 21-5 in the final eight minutes for the league win.

Buchanan had a balanced scoring attack with three players hitting double figures. Jalen Brown had a game high 15 points while Dylan Arnold and Savon Brown each netted 13 apiece for the Bucks, who improve their league mark to 5-2 and go to 9-4 overall.

“We played much better tonight after the 10-day layoff,” Buchanan coach Reid McBeth said. “We are trying to get better on offense. We have to have the ability to to slow it down if the game gets to be a high tempo game. We have a team that is willing to share the ball and when you have that it is hard to defend.”

Cassopolis was led by three players with nine points apiece. Dwayne Morgan, Nate Hartline and Gilliam paced the Rangers, who drop to 7-8 and 1-7 in the Lakeland.

Buchanan…36

Cassopolis…52

Buchanan had no answer for Reese Ellison inside as the Lady Rangers dealt another blow to the Lady Bucks with a 52-36 loss.

Ellison finished with a game-high 16 points as she also pulled in 21 rebounds for the Lady Rangers. Savannah Sullivan and Lela Broussasrd also turned in a big night with each contributing to the win with 13 points.

Buchanan tied the game at eight midway through the first quarter, but Cassopolis finished out the quarter on an 8-0 run to take command of the contest.

The Lady Bucks trailed by just seven points at the half 25-18 but it was to big of a hole to overcome as the game moved on through the second half.

“We had no answer in stopping Ellison,” Buchanan coach David Cleveland said. “She went after every rebound. We have to play hard for four quarters if we want to win games.”

Chelsea Adolph poured in 18 points and Erin Glavin knocked down 14. Only one other Buchanan player would score as Ashley Simpson finished the game with four points.

Cassopolis improves to 7-7 and 4-5 in Lakeland play and new head coach Janice Gatson picked up her first career win. Floyd Fossten turned in his resignation last week it was announced by Cassopolis athletic director Bob Guse on Friday.

“The girls came out ready to play basketball tonight,” Gatson said of her teams performance.

BUCHANAN 68

Dylan Arnold 5 3-4 13, Savon Brown 5 2-2 13, Andrew Hearington 0 3-6 3, Ryan Catalano 2 0-2 4, Justin Henderson 1 0-0 2, Jalen Brown 6 3-4 15, Brandon Jackson 2 5-7 10, Izaih Dorsey 2 4-5 8. Totals 23 20-30 68.

CASSOPOLIS 39

Dwayne Morgan 3 3-4 9, Nate Hartline 4 0-0 9, Delshawn Wicker 1 0-0 3, Tyler Gilliam 3 0-0 9, Austin Los 1 1-4 3, Oliver Fiala 1 0-0 2, Mike Kadlec 0 0-0 0, Quinten Obrie 2 0-2 4, Brandin Davis 0 0-1 0. Totals 15 4-11 39.

Buchanan 15 32 47 68

Cassopolis 7 19 34 39

3-point baskets: Buchanan 2 (S. Brown, Jackson) Cassopolis 5 (Gilliam 3, Hartline, Wicker) Team fouls (fouled out): Buchanan 14 (none) Cassopolis 22 (none) Records: Buchanan 9-4, 5-2 (Lakeland) Cassopolis 7-8, 1-7 (Lakeland) Junior varsity score: Buchanan 71 (Dallis Reynolds 17, Kevin Dey 17) Cassopolis 62 (Vashaun Morgan 15, Kelvin Curtis 15).

BUCHANAN 36

Ashlyn Pastryk 0 0-0 0, Pachia Benson 0 0-0 0, Chelsea Adolph 8 0-0 18, Erin Glavin 6 0-0 14, Courtney Adolph 0 0-0 0, Dalis Benson 0 0-0 0, Ashley Simpson 2 0-0 4. Totals 16 0-0 36.

CASSOPOLIS 52

Tammy Lee 1 1-2 3, Breanna Coleman 2 1-2 5, Savannah Sullivan 5 0-0 13, Lela Broussard 6 0-3 13, Joeclyn Transou 0 2-5 2, Reese Ellison 7 2-8 16, Ann Seem 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 6-20 52.

Buchanan 8 18 25 36

Cassopolis 16 25 37 52

3-point baskets: Buchanan 4 (Chelsea Adolph 2, Glavin 2) Cassopolis 4 (Sullivan 3, Broussard) Team fouls (fouled out): Buchanan 18 (none) Cassopolis 7 (none) Team records: Buchanan 3-9, 2-6 (Lakeland) Cassopolis 7-7, 4-5 (Lakeland) Junior varsity score: Buchanan 42 (Jodi Mosier 10, Mackenzie Orphidis 10) Cassopolis 25 (Jessica Herthoge)