Evans Scores 31 To Lead Boyd-Buchanan 68-60 Victory

Bucs Rally From Six-Point Halftime Deficit To Win At Home Against Hixson

  • Monday, January 14, 2019
  • John Hunt
Boyd-Buchanan's Eli Evans controls the ball in route to a big win over Hixson.  Evans finished with 31 points.
Boyd-Buchanan's Eli Evans controls the ball in route to a big win over Hixson. Evans finished with 31 points.
photo by Greg Davick

The Boyd-Buchanan Buccaneers have four basketball games in the next five days, but all is well so far as they started off that grueling stretch with a win over Hixson Monday night at Boyd-Buchanan’s Tom Jett Gymnasium.

The Wildcats lost for the 11th time in 13 games, but they didn’t play like it as they gave the Buccaneers all they wanted in more during the first half when the Wildcats built a 33-27 lead.

The second half was another story as the Bucs successfully attacked the rim on offense and rebounded much better.  The final score proved it as the hosts improved to 16-5 overall with the 68-60 victory.

Josh Templeton, Boyd’s first-year head coach, was much happier with the second half than the first, but he was just pleased his guys had the fortitude to survive a great opening half by Hixson.

“Hixson came out great and punched us right in the face at the start as they played really well.  We had a tough game at Southeast Whitfield on Saturday and we may have been a little flat at the start, but did a much better job in the second half,” the bearded Templeton explained while the gym continued to clear.

“We knew we had to attack the rim in the second half and that’s what we did.  We have some good shooters, but we were settling for quick shots in the first half.  And we weren’t  boxing out like we should have been.  We started off a little sluggish and Hixson made us pay.

“We got staggered, but were able to stay in the fight and win by a unanimous decision.  The bottom line is that we have to keep getting better.  We want to be better today than we were yesterday.

“Their leading scorer (Christian Crowe) had a great first half, but I really liked how Preston Edmondson came in and did a nice job of shutting him down.  And Caden Johnson is only an eighth grader, but he also did a nice job coming off the bench and giving us a much-needed spark.

“But this is the first of four games in the next five days and we just have to keep battling,” the young coach added.

Hixson coach Lawanza Crutcher knows that his team is much better than their record might indicate.  The youthful Wildcats are getting better and he knows it’s just a matter of time before they turn the corner on winning close games like this one.

“We’re getting better as the season goes along as we’re starting to eliminate some of the silly mistakes we were making, but I’m proud of how hard we played tonight.  We just have to learn how to close out and finish big games like this,” he said post-game.

“We’re knocking at the door, but we haven’t kicked it down yet.  We shot the ball well in the first half and had good movement, but we missed some assignments in the second half.  We didn’t adjust on number one (Eli Evans) and he was the difference in the game.

“We can’t take anything away from them, but we just have to hold our heads up and keep working.  Records don’t really matter as it’s just preparation for post-season tournaments.  I hate it for my kids as they’re really working hard, but wins are earned and not given,” Crutcher concluded with a smile.

Young Johnson came off the bench and quickly sank a couple of 3s as the Bucs had a 21-17 lead when the first quarter ended.

Back-to-back drives by Edmondson with 2:57 showing put the Bucs ahead by 25-23 before the Wildcats finished the half on a 10-2 run for a 33-27 lead at the break. 

Crowe had 17 of his 24 points in that first half for the Wildcats, but it was the slender junior Evans who took charge in the second half. 

Evans scored the first 10 points as the Bucs knotted the score at 37-37 with 5:24 left in the third stanza.  He added four more points a couple of minutes later as that six-point halftime deficit turned into a 44-39 lead when the third stanza ended.

Hixson opened the final quarter on a 7-0 run – sparked by five points from Shawn Long – and had a 46-44 lead with 6:15 to play, but a 3 from the wing by Ian Johnson with 4:35 left gave the hosts a 52-49 lead and the Wildcats never got any closer than three points the rest of the way.

Evans added a dozen points in the final quarter to finish with 31 for the game.  Edmondson was next with nine while Will Emrey added eight.

Crowe finished with 24 points to lead Hixson.  Long was also in double figures with 14 while Justin Smith finished with nine.

Hixson had an unofficial 18-15 rebounding edge in the first half, but the Bucs finished the game with a 36-28 advantage overall.

Evans had nine for the Bucs while Ian Johnson had eight and Emrey seven.  Smith was tops for Hixson with 10 while Reginald Hunter snagged seven.

BOYD-BUCHANAN GIRLS 37, HIXSON 34: The Lady Wildcats had an 11-5 lead after the first quarter, but couldn’t hang on as the Lady Bucs won with a 21-18 edge in the second half.

Yani Garner had a dozen points for the Lady Bucs, who are now 9-9 for the season, while Zacori Hill was also in double figures with 11.

Rickell Crutcher and Kirby Brown both scored 11 points to pace Hixson.

GIRLS SUMMARY

HIXSON  11  5  9  9  --  34

BOYD-BUCHANAN  5  11  8  13  --  37

HIXSON (34) – Crutcher 11, Nakata 2, Strickland, Hunter 8, Brown 11, Hobbs, Johnston 1, Elesea.

BOYD-BUCHANAN (37) – A. Taylor, Stone 2, Gardenhire 4, M. Taylor 7, Balthrop 1, Dawson, Garner 12, Hill 11.

3-POINT GOALS: Hixson 2 (Hunter 2); Boyd-Buchanan none.

BOYS SUMMARY

HIXSON  17  16  6  21  --  60

BOYD-BUCHANAN  21  6  17  24  --  68

HIXSON (60) – Crowe 24, Wise 2, Smith 9, Burton, Re. Hunter 6, Long 14, Maples, Ri. Hunter 5, Woods.

BOYD-BUCHANAN (68) – Evans 31, Oliver 5, Edmondson 9, Emrey 8, Covington 4, C. Johnson 6, I. Johnson 5, Baubach.

3-POINT GOALS: Hixson 7 (Crowe 2, Hunter 2, Long 3); Boyd-Buchanan 4 (Oliver, C. Johnson 2, I. Johnson).

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)

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