The Boyd-Buchanan Buccaneers were “feeling it” in a home basketball game against rival Chattanooga Christian Friday night.
Coach Josh Templeton was quick to point out how well his team shot the ball in his post-game comments by saying, “I’m not sure we’ve ever shot it that well since I’ve been their coach.”
Nailing a dozen 3-pointers to go along with Templeton’s comment and the fact that the Bucs had an unofficial 39-15 advantage in rebounds, this game didn’t stay close long as the hosts improved to 6-3 overall with the 86-62 victory.
The Chargers are now 4-4 overall.
“We had a definite size advantage and when our big guys play well, that opens up everything for everyone else. I thought that Karson Gay had his best game in a Boyd-Buchanan uniform as he was everywhere,” Templeton continued.
“Chattanooga Christian has an outstanding basketball team and they’re tough to stop. And I’m sure it hurt when Jackson Hilger went out with an injury early. He’s a great player and that changed the whole complexion of the game.
“But I liked how we competed. We got away with some mistakes, but were very fortunate to shoot it as well as we did. I never expect a blowout like this in a rivalry game, but we played really well for the most part,” the coach concluded.
Boo Carter scored the first bucket of the game to give the Chargers a 2-0 lead 13 seconds after the opening tip, but Caden Johnson followed with a 3 and Jacob Shockley added another bucket to give the Bucs a 5-2 lead.
Tink Scott bagged a 3 at the 4:50 mark to knot the score at 5-5 before the Bucs finished the quarter on a 14-6 run for a 19-11 lead when the first quarter ended.
Carter scored on a drive down the lane with 5:23 left in the half to cut Boyd’s lead to 25-18, but the Bucs scored the next 12 points for a 37-18 lead and the game never got much closer.
Scott scored on a putback and Parker Graham canned a long one from the corner in the final minute as the difference was 44-30 at intermission.
The Bucs extended the lead to 50-30 in the first two minutes of the second half with six straight points and it never got any closer than 15 following a pair of 3s by Graham and Carter.
Perhaps the loudest cheers of the game came in the final stretch as Gavin Calhoun and Bennett Kolff got in the scoring column with 3s as subs from both teams finished the game.
CCS coach Chris Sain wasn’t nearly as upset with his team’s play as the score was lopsided, but he was quick to praise the Buccaneers for shooting exceptionally well.
“I don’t think the final score reflects the kind of game we just played as we competed the entire game. Boyd just shot the lights out. We just have to keep our heads up and keep working to get better. We scored 62 points and that’s normally enough to win a game, but it really hurt when Jackson went down.
“He’s one of our better players and suffered a torn ACL last year. The trainer didn’t want to take a chance on hurting it more, so that’s why he didn’t come back. That completely changed the game when he went out.
“We were definitely the smaller team and got outrebounded by a lot, but we kept battling and that’s what I’m most proud of,” Sain added.
Boyd-Buchanan had six players in double figures, led by Ace Bailey with 16 points. Caden Johnson was next with 14 and Shockley with 13 while Ryan Lopez, John Craw and Gay all had 11.
Carter was tops for CCS with 23 points while Scott added 16. Graham finished with nine, all from long range.
Boyd-Buchanan had an unofficial 39-15 rebounding edge, including 16-6 in the first half. Johnson and Bailey both grabbed eight each for the Bucs while Gay had seven and Shockley five. Sam Hall and Scott both grabbed five each for the Chargers.
The Bucs don’t have long to enjoy Friday’s win as they have a big road game on Monday at Notre Dame. CCS will play at home for only the third time this season when they host Knoxville Catholic next Friday.
CCS GIRLS 44, BOYD-BUCHANAN 32: The Lady Chargers entered play with only one win in their first 10 games, but they didn’t play like it as they grabbed the lead early in the second quarter and never looked back.
Lily Brady led the way for CCS with nine points while Christal Collins had eight and Aayannah Baird seven. Lillie Lowe added six points on two from long range as the Lady Bucs made five 3s for the game.
Yani Garner was tops for the Lady Bucs with 16 points while Jalisa Sanders was next with eight.
GIRLS SUMMARY
CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN 8 17 12 7 -- 44
BOYD-BUCHANAN 9 8 6 9 -- 32
CCS (44) – Lowe 6, Baird 7, Davick, Brady 9, Bustamante 3, Collins 8, Youell 4, Matthews 3, Bray 4.
BOYD-BUCHANAN (32) – Stone 2, Robertson 1, Winston 2, Sanders 8, Pope, Massey, Watson, Balthrop, Reeves 3, Garner 16.
3-POINT GOALS: CCS 5 (Lowe 2, Brady, Bustamante, Collins); Boyd-Buchanan none.
BOYS SUMMARY
CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN 11 19 15 17 -- 62
BOYD-BUCHANAN 19 25 22 20 -- 86
CCS (62) – Jacks 6, Lewis, Hilger, Eng 6, Carter 23, Stimart, Graham 9, Scott 16, Hall, Turner 2, Patrick.
BOYD-BUCHANAN (86) – Ca. Johnson 14, Co. Johnson, Calhoun 3, Wamack, Lopez 11, Bailey 16, Kolff 3, Gay 11, Craw 11, Miller 4, Carlton, Shockley 13, Jones, Johnston, Warren.
3-POINT GOALS: CCS 9 (Eng 2, Carter 3, Graham 3, Scott); Boyd-Buchanan 12 (Ca. Johnson 2, Calhoun, Lopez 2, Bailey 2, Kolff, Craw 3, Shockley).
(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)