Ben’s Ford Christian School led Bowling Green 15-14 after the first quarter, but the Bucs outscored the Eagles 18-4 in the second quarter and went on for a 74-59 win at home Monday.
Ben’s Ford had a one-point lead through the first period, but Bowling Green took a 20-17 advantage by the 4:56 mark of the second quarter and then scored 11 in a row to go up 14.
The run began when Braden Edwards drove in for two to make it a 22-17 contest with 3:46 on the clock. Charles Tanksley hit a fastbreak layup and got fouled. The free-throw attempt was waved off by a lane violation, but his basket made it a three-possession game. Tanksley hit another layup on a fastbreak and it was a nine-point game. Steven Cooper knocked down a jumper before Edwards split from the line, but Lync Sharp hit the putback off the miss and Bowling Green led 31-17 with 1:27 on the clock.
It was 32-19 at halftime.
“Our defense was kind of sluggish for us tonight,” Bowling Green coach Jaron Edwards said. “We reached a lot and tried to block too many shots. We had too many in foul trouble. That’s why I think they were able to stay in the game with the fouls. They got in the double bonus real quick and I think the free throws they were hitting kept them in the ballgame.”
Connor Comeaux, who scored 14 points and hit four 3-pointers to go with eight rebounds, three assists and a steal, talked about the game.
“We started off shaky. We had a couple of turnovers, lots of foul trouble and I think once we settled in and started seeing the ball go through the hoop, we started settling in on defense, put together some stops and some runs,” Comeaux said.
Bowling Green came out strong in the second half with a 7-2 run.
Cooper began the second-half scoring 50 seconds into the third quarter with a 3-pointer. Ben’s Ford’s Seth Burns passed to Kameron Underwood for two. Bowling Green’s Edwards drove for two and Drew Wagner hit a putback shot after an offensive rebound. It was 39-21 with 5:54 left in the third quarter.
Bowling Green led 50-33 after three quarters and went on to the 74-59 win.
Ben’s Ford coach Landon Tims said his team struggled against the press.
“We got a lot of turnovers and they got a lot of easy points off of those buckets because of our inability to handle the press and get the ball up the court,” Tims said.
Tims was pleased with his team’s halfcourt offense.
“We got the shots we wanted. Our top two scorers, they did what they were supposed to do, but at the end of the day, it came down, we had 11 missed free throws, we gave up 10 3-pointers and we couldn’t get the ball up the court on against the press,” Tims said.
The Buccaneers had a balanced scoring attack.
Cooper led the way with 17 points, which included a pair of 3-pointers.
He also dished out three assists and made three steals.
Edwards posted double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds and he had five steals. Edwards hit a 3-pointer.
Wagner recorded nine points, which included a 3-pointer. Wagner also posted nine rebounds and a steal.
Sharp scored seven points, along with seven boards and a steal.
Tanksley tallied six points, an assist, a rebound and a steal.
Jace Schexnider posted four points, four boards and two steals.
Jace Duhe had three points and two rebounds.
Crockett Comeaux pulled down three boards and made a steal.
Ben’s Ford’s Underwood scored a game-high 33 points, which included a 3-pointer. Underwood had a double-double. He also grabbed 10 rebounds.
Tyler Winstead posted 12 points, eight boards, four assists and he blocked four shots.
Tucker Keating recorded six points, a rebound, two assists and five steals.
Seth Schilling posted two points, two boards and a blocked shot.
Jarvis Dawson had two points and four rebounds.
Isaac Wascom posted two points and a pair of steals.
Dalton Crain tallied a point, a rebound and a steal.
Seth Burns recorded five rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots.