68-45 loss at Neumann sets up challenging final week for Bucks
By Bees O’Brien
WILLIAMSPORT- Bucktail’s Wednesday night Mid Penn Conference rematch with St. John Neumann didn’t go well for the Bucks. Tyrick Moy, Messiah Baldwin and Joe Savage would all score in double figures as Neumann would pick up the victory over Bucktail, 68-45 in a pivotal game with playoff implications for both squads.
The Golden Knights jumped out to a 19-9 lead after one quarter and would cruise from there.
Joe Savage, who missed the first meeting at Bucktail would have a monster 11-point second quarter. Neumann’s 24-13 second quarter would give them a 43-22 lead at halftime.
St. John Neumann would outscore Bucktail by a small 25-23 margin in the second half to set the final.
Savage led Neumann with 20 points. Moy netted 17 points and Baldwin finished with 12 points.
Johnny Green had a standout night by scoring 15 points to lead the Bucks. Brody Pentz collected another double-double by scoring 11 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Braylon Fantaski added 10 points in the loss.
The win moved the Golden Knights to 10-9 and has them in prime position to hosting a District IV 2A quarterfinal contest as they hold the number 4 spot.
Bucktail fell in an 8-10 hole on the season and will need to finish out their final four games with strong performances if they want a shot at hosting a quarterfinal playoff game in 1A.
Bucktail’s busy week begins on Saturday with a tough trip to playoff hungry Montgomery (6-12). The Bucks will then hit the road on Monday for their final road game of the regular season with a rematch against Millville (3-16). Bucktail downed the Quakers 71-47 in Farwell a couple weeks back.
Bucktail will then host Columbia Montour VoTech (1-16) on Tuesday for Senior Night. The Bucks will then close out their regular season on Thursday when they host Curwensville (10-9) in a rematch from back in December. In that meeting it was the Golden Tide that bested Bucktail 68-56 in Curwensville.
Bucktail is currently fifth in the district standings and basically control their own destiny if they wish to remain in Dale Florey Gymnasium for a quarterfinal playoff game. Meadowbrook Christian has that spot currently. The Lions lone remaining game is tonight at heavily favored Juniata.
Defending district champions Sullivan County are hot on the Bucks’ tails and could easily jump Bucktail if they were to stumble in any of their remaining four games.
