BLUFFTON – The Bluffton High School boys basketball team used a huge first half to thrash visiting non-conference foe Carey 77-36 on January 11.
The Pirates improved to 9-2 overall with the lopsided victory. Carey fell to 3-8 after the defeat.
Guard Marek Donaldson topped a balanced Bluffton attack with 15 points. Blake Sommers scored 14, and Kain Wright added 13 markers.
Seniors Landen Worcester and Bean Ginther each netted nine points, while classmate Terron Boblitt added eight.
Bluffton led 22-2 after the first period, and built an insurmountable 45-6 margin at halftime. The Pirates won the second half, 32-30.
Donaldson scored nine first-period points and Sommers nailed two triples to shoot the Pirates to a 20-point lead. Worcester tallied seven markers in the second stanza, while Boblitt added five as they ballooned the lead to 39.
BLUFFTON – The Bluffton High School girls basketball team lost a defensive battle 40-32 to visiting non-conference foe Paulding on January 11.
Bluffton fell to 8-6 overall after suffering their second defeat in three days. Paulding improved to 11-2 with the road win.
The Pirates led 6-5 after a low-scoring opening quarter.
But Paulding took control with a 14-6 second stanza to forge ahead 19-12 at halftime. Panther Tori Schlatter drained two triples and a two-pointer to tally eight points in the momentum-changing second period.
Bluffton rebounded to take the third quarter 12-9 and inch within 28-24 heading into the final period. But the Panthers captured the fourth stanza 12-8 to win by eight.
Junior Blair Utendorf led the Pirates with eight points on four baskets. Pirate senior post Ayla Grandey contributed seven markers.
BLUFFTON – Playing at home, the Bluffton High School boys basketball team lost 70-64 to Northwest Conference foe Crestview in a key league game on Friday, January 10.
The Pirates dropped to 8-2 overall and 1-1 in the NWC with the loss. Crestview improved to 9-3 overall and 2-1 in NWC play after the road win.
Guard Marek Donaldson led three Pirates in double figures with 17 points. Kain Wright tallied 16 markers, while Bean Ginther contributed 14 points.
Bluffton senior Terron Boblitt added nine points on three triples.
The Pandora-Gilboa High School boy’s basketball team hosted McComb for a late afternoon Blanchard Valley Conference game on January 10. P-G flew out to an early lead, and then had to fend off the Panthers for a 48-36 win.
In the opening stanza, the Rockets took control with an 11-4 advantage. McComb (1-10, 0-5 BVC) battled back and tied the game at fourteen midway through the second quarter; as P-G led just 19-16 at halftime.
