Listless Bucs no match for University in key battle for sectional seeding

TENNERTON – It was their biggest game to date when the Buckhannon-Upshur Buccaneers squared off against the University Hawks Wednesday night at the high school gym.

The top seed in the sectional tournament in two weeks was at stake, but the Bucs were never able to stay with the Hawks, falling behind early by a 15-0 score en route to a 74-32 setback.

University scored early on several transition baskets with the Bucs not getting back on defense and shot 58 percent for the game making good on 32 of their 55 field goals attempts. The Hawks also outrebounded the Bucs by a 31-29 margin and turned the Bucs over 23 times.

The loss left Buckhannon-Upshur head coach Travis Foster wondering where the effort was from his Bucs in such a crucial game.

“We have to find what we want out of the season,” remarked a dejected Foster after the game. “We have been settling of late to being a very mediocre team. It is one thing to lose some games when you have some injuries, but our effort is really bad right now.”

“I am saying things as a coach to the team that I shouldn’t have to be saying with one week left in the season,” he added. “We are too busy taking plays off. We should be hustling on every play and every pass. We were very lazy in getting back on defense tonight. We watched the game happen around us instead of us moving to the ball. We have to find players moving on every play for 32 minutes. This effort tonight was unacceptable.”

Down 15-0, the Bucs finally got on the scoreboard with 2:22 remaining in the first quarter when Lamar Hurst scored from underneath.

Zach Calef-Boring made a lay-up at the end of the quarter, leaving the Bucs down 20-6.

A putback by Shawn Blandino kept the Bucs down by 12, at 24-12, with 5:18 showing on the second-quarter clock, but the Hawks went on a 10-0 run opening up a 34-12 advantage.

Ian Strader ended the run with a lay-up for B-U at the 1:27 mark, but the Hawks scored the final four points of the quarter for a 38-14 lead at the break.

Sterlin Thropp started the third quarter with a lay-up putting the Bucs down 22, but they couldn’t get any closer than that as the Hawks built their lead to 27 at the end of the stanza, at 54-27.

The Bucs were outscored in the fourth quarter by a 20-5 margin.

Garrison Kisner led the Hawks with 20 points while Elija Jackson added 13 as University improved to 11-7 on the season.

Jaden Westfall, who got a start against the Hawks, led the Bucs with 10 points and seven rebounds.

The Bucs dropped to 8-10 on the year and will look to right the ship on Thursday as they host Lewis County at 7:30 p.m.

The boxscore:

University 20  18  16  20 – 74

Buckhannon-Upshur 6  8  13   5 – 32

University 74

Garrison Kisner 10-16 0-0 20; Elija Jackson 6-8 0-0 13; Rafael Barcinas 3-4 2-2 8; Aaron Forbes 3-5 2-4 8; James Garbart 3-4 0-0 6; Grant Cavalier 2-3 1-2 6; Jaeden Hammack 2-5 0-0 5; Diego Reyes 1-3 0-0 3; Landon Cool 1-3 1-1 3; Charles Nemecek 1-1 0-0 2; John Coleman 0-1 0-0 0; Carson Ford 0-1 0-0 0; Luke Hudson 0-1 0-0 0; Ty Jordan-Egnot 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-55 6-9 74.

Buckhannon-Upshur 32

Jaden Westfall 5-8 0-4 10; Lamar Hurst 3-10 1-2 7; Shawn Blandino 1-1 3-4 5; Sterlin Thropp 2-5 0-3 4; Ian Strader 2-5 0-0 4; Zach Calef-Boring 1-3 0-1 2; Mason Hyre 0-4 0-0 0; Nathaniel Ringer 0-2 0-0 0; Oliver King 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-38 4-14 32.

Three-point field goals – University: Cavalier 1-1; Jackson 1-2; Hammack 1-2; Reyes 1-3; Cool 0-1; Garbart 0-1. Totals 4-10; Buckhannon-Upshur: Calef-Boring 0-1; Thropp 0-1; Hurst 0-1; Strader 0-1; Ringer 0-2; Hyre 0-3. Totals 0-9.

Rebounds – University: Kisner 7; Forbes 5; Nemecek 3; Hammack 3; Coleman 2; Cavalier 2; Reyes 2; team 2; deadball 2; Jackson 1; Ford 1; Cool 1. Totals 31; Buckhannon-Upshur: Westfall 7; Blandino 5; deadball 4; Hyre 3; Hurst 3; Calef-Boring 2; team 2; Thropp 1; King 1; Strader 1. Totals 29.

Assists – University: Forbes 4; Ford 3; Hammack 3; Hudson 3; Reyes 2; Jackson 1; Cavalier 1; Cool 1. Totals 18; Buckhannon-Upshur: Blandino 2; Hurst 2; Westfall 2; Hyre 1; Strader 1. Totals 8.

Steals – University: Jackson 3; Cavalier 2; Barcinas 2; Garbart 2; Reyes 1; Nemececk 1; Hammack 1; Forbes 1. Totals 13; Buckhannon-Upshur: Calef-Boring 2; Thropp 2; Blandino 1. Totals 5.

Blocked shots – University: Forbes 1. Totals 1; Buckhannon-Upshur: Hurst 2; Blandino 1. Totals 3.

Turnovers – University: 10; Buckhannon-Upshur: 23.

Personal fouls – University: 16; Buckhannon-Upshur: 9.

Featured

SHOPS & SERVICES

Really Really Free Market to return to Jawbone Park April 16

BUCKHANNON – The Consolidated Public Works Board approved event requests for the Really Really Free Market and Narcan Day. Heather Schneider and Missy Daugherty spoke during the March 23 CPWB to highlight the details of

Upshur Schools officials say instances of noncompliance found in WVDE review of special education services have been corrected

TENNERTON – The state Department of Education’s multi-part monitoring of Upshur County Schools’ Special Education services that unearthed some instances of noncompliance could soon be coming to an end. Upshur County Schools underwent an initial monitoring period in March 2022, […]

Become a premium member to unlock immediate access to this story and thousands more. Plus you’ll wake up every morning to our email edition. Your subscription supports local news by local writers. Signing up is easy — just tap the button below!

SHOPS & SERVICES

Softball Lady Bucs win fourth straight, down Fairmont Senior 8-0

TENNERTON – Jansen Kimble pitched a two-hit shutout and collected two extra-base hits to help lead the Buckhannon-Upshur softball Lady Bucs to an 8-0 Big 10 Conference victory over Fairmont Senior Thursday evening. Kimble was on top her of game […]

Become a premium member to unlock immediate access to this story and thousands more. Plus you’ll wake up every morning to our email edition. Your subscription supports local news by local writers. Signing up is easy — just tap the button below!

SHOPS & SERVICES

Ghana representatives visit Buckhannon ahead of WAMSB 2023

BUCKHANNON — With less than four months remaining until Buckhannon becomes a world stage, representatives with the National Cadet Corps, Ghana visited the area ahead of the World Association of Marching Show Bands (WAMSB) 2023