Boyd-Buchanan shook off a few days of rust and found a way to penetrate a confusing Marion County zone defense and pull out a 59-52 Region 3-A basketball win Tuesday night at Jett Gym.
Cade Evans scored 22 points and consistently broke down the tight Marion County defense as the Buccaneers earned a trip to the region semifinals at South Pittsburg tonight, weather permitting.
"We were a little rusty at the start, but it wasn't just us," Boyd-Buchanan coach Zach Roddenberry said. "Marion was out all week as well. Our guys handled it well, I thought."
The visiting Warriors did not make things easy on the favored Bucs (12-16). Kahne Hale's seven early points propelled Marion to a 12-5 lead, but the Bucs started pushing the pace to close the gap and eventually earn some breathing room.
Rylie Walker's back-to-back 3-pointers to end the opening period gave the Bucs their first lead at 16-14. The margin was still two at halftime before Evans scored six points in a 11-4 run to open the third quarter. A John Antwine putback pushed the lead to 11, and when Cooper Hodge nailed a 3-pointer at the period's end the gap grew to 41-29.
Matt Harveston, however, had an answer for the Warriors, scoring the period's first seven points, and after Logan Gonzales drove for two, the lead was down to three with still 6:30 to play. Marion even had two possessions down three but could not convert. Antwine quieted the rally with a driving layup, and Walker pushed it back to seven with a steal.
The visitors had one final run, this time led by post Ty Heifner, whose back-to-back putbacks keyed a 6-0 run that again drew the Warriors within three with 1:48 to play. Hodge and Evans, though, ended the upset effort with consecutive layups.
"We knew ... that team is scrappy," Roddenberry said. "They're so athletic and their 1-3-1 zone is tough; we don't see that very often. It was a great game to watch."
Walker added 12 points with Antwine and Hodge scoring 10 each for the Bucs, while Harveston topped Marion with 18, followed by Hale with 13.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.