Bucs Take Two
It wasn’t easy, but the Bucs beat East in overtime in Belvidere last Thursday night, 67 – 62. The Bucs swept the E-rabs for the season before talking on a non-conference opponent last Friday night.
The Spartans jumped out to a 6 – 0 lead in the opening minutes of the game. Sycamore seemed to be their own worst enemy with two traveling calls that gave the ball to the Bucs. However, Belvidere was unable to do anything on either side of the court. The Bucs took a full timeout to take stock of the situation. Belvidere finally picked up a rebound and Sycamore got into some foul trouble. Adam Cox went to the line with five minutes left in the period and got the Bucs on the board with a pair of free throws. While the Bucs were still down, they began to pick up their defense. Cox stole the ball away and began to grab rebounds on both sides of the court. However, Sycamore used their speed to break up Belvidere’s passing. While they weren’t getting as many easy shots at the end of the period, Sycamore still had a 15 – 7 lead.
The Spartans led by as many as eleven points in the second period. The Bucs dodged a bullet after the Spartans got between a pass, but it went out of bounds. Another bad pass led Sycamore to a fast break, but they missed the shot. The Bucs picked up the rebound. Jack Adams was inside the paint to score two on a turn around jump shot. A moment later, Dustin Boardman tried a three pointer, missed, but George Waddell grabbed the rebound and scored two on the second try. Sycamore tried to drive into the paint, but the shot was blocked by Belvidere. Dustin Boardman picked up the rebound, passed to Josh Easley, to Brandon Codina and inside to Adam Cox for a score that got them to within five. Sycamore took a quick time out to get settled. It worked at first. The Spartans made their next two shots, but were having difficulty getting inside. The Bucs were playing with intensity. Sycamore didn’t pick up a single rebound in the rest of the period. Codina found a three point shot with less than a minute to play in the half to bring the Bucs within two points. The Spartans passed the ball inbounds and Adam Cox got in between to break up any last second play.
The Varsity cheerleaders had a special halftime show. The crowd was treated to their NIC-9 winning routine. It might have inspired the Bucs who were waiting in the wings to practice as the cheerleaders rolled up their mats.
Brandon Codina started the scoring in the third period, sinking a three pointer that gave the Bucs their first lead in the game, 25 – 24. Sycamore missed their next two and lost the ball. While the Bucs shooting percentage wasn’t much higher, they were grabbing the rebounds and playing with a lot of energy. Jack Adams made a shot under the basket, was fouled and made a free throw. The Spartans took another time out to get into some kind of rhythm. They made their next two shots on their way to a 6 – 0 run to regain the lead. But the Bucs weren’t out by any means. Josh Easley stole the ball away and lobbed the ball to Adam Cox for two points to tie the game. Sycamore scored again, but Cox drove inside to score and tie the game again. The Spartans missed a shot outside, Kyle Tevebaugh picked up the rebound. Adams made another turn around jump shot to give the Bucs the lead again, 34 – 32 with less than two minutes to play in the third. Sycamore tried to outrun the Bucs, but Belvidere kept the pace. The defense prevented the Spartans from getting inside. On the offense, the Bucs had a height advantage and used it as often as they could. Jack Adams dodged a takeaway in the paint and scored another two points. While the Spartans made a lay up to end the period, the Bucs still had a slim lead, 39 – 36, going into the fourth.
While Sycamore continued to threaten, the Bucs were able to hold them off throughout the fourth quarter. A quick pass inside reduced the Bucs lead to one, but that was as close as the Spartans would get. Dustin Boardman drove in with a lay up. A moment later Boardman stole the ball away. Brandon Codina found another three pointer to increase the lead to six. The Spartans went after the Bucs everywhere and anywhere, but their desperation as time ran down gave the advantage to Belvidere. In the final two minutes, the Bucs were nine of ten at the free throw line; enough to give them the win, 52 – 47.
The Bucs take on the Vikings tonight at Guilford, hoping to avenge a 44 – 28 loss earlier this season. Guilford is coming off their loss to Boylan. The game starts at 7:30.
