Big third quarter lifts 3A Troy past Bucktail, 79-42

By Bees O’Brien

FARWELL- Bucktail boys head coach Travis Fantaskey had no idea what to expect on Saturday afternoon when his Bucks hosted District IV 3A powerhouse Troy. Following his team’s heartbreaking loss the previous night at Sullivan County, Fantaskey was pleased with his much smaller squads first half effort against the Trojans.

The Bucks trailed by just 5 points after the first quarter at 22-17 and despite Troy gaining some space at the half with a 42-28 lead, the Bucks were still putting up a valiant effort.

The Trojans quickly began to show their abilities to score at will be outscoring Bucktail 27-5 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach at 69-33. A 10-9 fourth quarter from the Trojans wrapped up the 79-42 contest.

The win improved Troy’s season mark to 11-2 and qualified them for next month’s District IV 3A playoffs. The Bucks fell to 5-8 on the season.

Brody Pentz led the Bucks with 12 points and Ethan Charcalla continued to provide solid offense for Bucktail by netting 10 points. Gary Whipp and Talan Ditty each finished with 8 points. Ditty’s 8 rebounds led Bucktail.

This coming week will be huge for the Bucks. It’ll begin with a trip to Austin on Monday. Bucktail will then host Benton on Wednesday and travel to Juniata Christian the following night. Bucktail will then wrap up their busy week by hosting Mid Penn West leading Muncy on Saturday night.