TENNERTON – Double-doubles by Carter Zuliani and Jaden Westfall led the Buckhannon-Upshur Buccaneers to a dominate 58-42 win over the visiting Preston Knights Friday night.
Zuliani had 15 points and 14 rebounds while Westfall tallied 15 points and 11 rebounds.
“This was a good win,” stated Buckhannon-Upshur head coach Jason Westfall. “It was a good confidence builder, and I am proud of the guys.”
Down 4-1 early, the Bucs went on a 5-0 run with baskets from Zuliani, Jaden Westfall and a free throw from Jerin Westfall for a 6-4 lead.
Preston closed the opening quarter on a 9-3 run for a 13-9 advantage heading into the second quarter.
B-U started the second quarter on a 9-0 run that was capped off by a Jerin Westfall trey that gave the Bucs an 18-13 advantage. They wouldn’t trail the rest of the game.
Preston ended a three-minute scoring drought with a trey by Aidan Schmidl making it 18-16, but Nathaniel Ringer rattled off a free throw and a three-pointer and Landon Marple put in a lay-up to treat the Bucs to a 24-16 lead with 1:41 remaining in the first half.
Buckhannon-Upshur took a 28-22 lead into the break.
The third quarter started with baskets by Jaden Westfall and Zuliani staking the Bucs to a 10-point lead at 32-22.
An old-fashioned three-point play by Jaden Westfall gave the Bucs a 41-30 advantage with 2:03 left in the frame and they took a 41-33 lead into the final eight minutes.
Up 43-35, the Bucs went on a 6-0 run behind two baskets by Malaki Williams and one from Zuliani for a 49-35 advantage with 5:43 left in the game.
A lay-up by Jaden Westfall put the Bucs up by 16 points at 53-37, with 3:09 to play and the Bucs wound up winning by that same 16-point margin.
The loss was the first of the season for the Knights as they dropped to 2-1 on the year.
They were led by Easton Hayes with 18 points while Schmidl added nine.
The Bucs shot the ball at a 52.3 percent clip (23-for-44) and outrebounded Preston by a 47-28 margin.
The win evened the Bucs record at 1-1 heading into Monday’s road battle with Lewis County.
The game will start at 7:30 p.m.
The boxscore:
Preston 13 9 11 9 – 42
Buckhannon-Upshur 9 19 13 17 – 58
Preston 42
Easton Hayes 6-17 5-10 18; Aidan Schmidl 3-6 0-0 9; Tristan Smith 2-6 0-0 4; Kaden Bacthel 2-4 0-0 4; Brier Rugg 1-7 0-0 3; Slaton Manko 1-5 0-0 2; Aaron White 1-2 0-0 2; Zachary Farrell 0-2 0-0 0; Chase Graham 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-50 5-10 42.
Buckhannon-Upshur 58
Jaden Westfall 6-10 3-7 15; Carter Zuliani 7-13 1-8 15; Malaki Williams 4-7 1-2 9; Jerin Westfall 2-3 1-2 6; Nathaniel Ringer 1-1 2-4 5; Bryson Johnston 0-1 2-2 2; Jevon Westfall 1-2 0-0 2; Landon Marple 1-1 0-0 2; Brody McDaniels 1-1 0-0 2; Ian Strader 0-5 0-0 0; Luke Yardley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-44 10-25 58.
Three-point field goals – Preston: Schmidl 3-5; Hayes 1-4; Rugg 1-6; Graham 0-1; Manko 0-1; Smith 0-1; Farrell 0-2; Totals 5-20; Buckhannon-Upshur: Ringer 1-1; Jerin Westfall 1-2; Strader 0-2. Totals 2-5.
Rebounds – Preston: team 6; Rugg 4; Smith 4; Hayes 3; Manko 3; Schimdl 2; White 2; deadball 2; Bachtel 1; Farrell 1. Totals 28; Buckhannon-Upshur: Zuliani 14; Jaden Westfall 11; Williams 5; team 4; deadball 4; Jerin Westfall 3; Ringer 3; Marple 1; Strader 1; Jevon Westfall 1. Totals 47.
Assists – Preston: Bacthel 2; Farrell 1; Manko 1; Schmidl 1; Smith 1; White 1. Totals 7; Buckhannon-Upshur: Zuliani 4; Jerin Westfall 2; Jaden Westfall 2; Ringer 1. Jevon Westfall 1. Totals 10.
Steals – Preston: White 2; Bacthel 2; Rugg 1. Totals 5; Buckhannon-Upshur: Ringer 2; Zuliani 2; Jaden Westfall 2; Strader 1; Williams 1; Jerin Westfall 1; Jevon Westfall 1. Totals 10.
Blocked shots – Preston: Bacthel 1; Smith 1; Hayes 1. Totals 3; Buckhannon-Upshur: Strader 1; Zuliani 1; Jerin Westfall 1. Totals 3.
Turnovers – Preston: 11; Buckhannon-Upshur: 17.
Personal fouls – Preston: 15; Buckhannon-Upshur: 18.
