PHILLIPI – Buckhannon-Upshur head basketball coach Jason Westfall couldn’t have scripted a better start to the first quarter of their Big 10 Conference game against the homestanding Philip Barbour Colts Wednesday night.

The Bucs shot eight-for-11 in the first quarter, scored the first 15 points of the game and led 18-4 after the first eight minutes were in the books.

“It is always good to get a win,” stated Westfall. “It was nice to start fast against a quality team.”

B-U raced out to a 15-0 lead not allowing the Colts to get on the scoreboard until 1:58 left in the opening quarter.

Jerin Westfall nailed a three-pointer putting B-U up 18-2 and they went into the second quarter with an 18-4 lead.

Buckhannon-Upshur didn’t let up in the second quarter

A 6-0 run capped off by a dunk from Ian Strader gave the Bucs a 27-8 advantage with 4:03 remaining in the second quarter.

The Bucs took a 32-15 lead in the break.

Buckhannon-Upshur built a 21-point lead after another Jerin Westfall three-pointer, at 47-26, and led 47-29 heading into the final quarter.

A lay-up by Bryson Johnston kept the Bucs up by 20, at 53-33, with five minutes remaining.

With Westfall substituting freely the rest of the way, Philip Barbour cut the final deficit down to 10 points.

“It was great to be able to spread out the minutes in the win,” remarked coach Westfall. “It kept the final margin closer than the game really was, but our roster and younger guys need tested. There was some good and bad in that, but it was a good opportunity to learn and develop.”

Carter Zuliani led the Bucs with a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds while Strader had 12 points and four rebounds.

“Our seniors continue to lead us,” noted coach Westfall. “Carter makes a huge impact on the game with his size and rebounding and playing above the rim. Ian always makes some great plays for us, Jaden (who finished the game with six assists) distributes the ball like a guard, Malaki always gets the defensive assignment of guarding the other team’s best player, Bryson stabilizes us in the backcourt and Nathaniel is a hard-nosed guard for us.”

Kaden Humphreys led Philip Barbour with a game-high 20 points as the Colts dropped to 4-8 overall and 2-7 in the Big 10 Conference

The Bucs improved to 10-4 overall and 6-3 in the conference.

They will be back in action with a huge game on tap with sectional seeding implications Friday visiting the Bridgeport Indians.

Bridgeport is currently 12-2 and ranked fifth in Class AAAA.

“We know them, and they know us,” stated coach Westfall. “They are a well-coached team and I know they will be ready for us. I am sure they will pack their gym and it should be a great high school basketball game to watch. We are excited for it, and we know what is at stake in this game,”