Bowling Green Buccaneers’ season ends in South State Tournament
Published 9:53 am Friday, February 12, 2016
- DAILY NEWS FILE PHOTO/Chris Kinkaid Bowling Green’s Matt Pierce takes a shot during a game earlier this season. Pierce, who had two rebounds, two steals and an assist in Tuesday’s game, was one of five Bowling Green seniors on the boys’ 2015-16 basketball team.
Bowling Green’s season came to an end Tuesday with a 61-31 loss to Cathedral Unit School in the opening round of the Class AAA MAIS South State Tournament at Columbia Academy.
The Buccaneers hung in through halftime. The game was tied, 6-6, after the first quarter. Cathedral outscored Bowling Green, 16-7, in the second to take a 22-13 lead to the break.
Cathedral opened things up in the third quarter when they started the second half on a 12-2 run to take a 34-15 advantage.
After that, the Buccaneers were unable to get the margin any closer than 17.
Lane Adams tallied nine points to lead the Buccaneers in scoring. Adams was successful on 4-of-8 from the field. He also had three rebounds and three assists.
Gage Savarese posted seven points, four boards and two assists.
Austin Reedy had five points, a rebound, an assist and a steal.
Jonathon Smith logged three points, four boards and a steal.
Peyton Richardson, Daniel Bischoff and Connor Comeaux all finished with two points. Richardson had a steal while Comeaux grabbed two boards.
Corbin Garris added one point and a rebound.
The Buccaneers finished the 2015-16 campaign with a 5-24 record.
Bowling Green coach Barry Seal complimented his team on the way they handled things in a tough year.
“It was an adjustment for our offense and defense, personnel-wise,” he said. “We had several lineup changes in trying to find the right combination of kids. Through it all, you could never question their heart and hustle.
“They could have folded up the tents early in the season, but they never did. They continued to give us everything they had, no matter who we played or what the score reflected.”
The Buccaneers had five seniors this year, including Adams, Richardson, Matt Pierce, Jordan Barnes and Alex Goolsby.
“Great group of kids,” Seal said. “They played hard and showed up to practice. They were committed to Bowling Green basketball. Even through a rough season, they never quit.”
Cathedral advanced to play Simpson Academy tonight at 7:45.
The top four teams advance to the Class AAA Tournament, which takes place at Brookhaven Academy next week.
