Bucktail stays in home playoff hunt with 43-34 road win
By Bees O’Brien
McAllisterville- It won’t always be pretty, but when there’s just three weeks remaining until the District IV playoff pairings are announced a win is a win. That was the case on Thursday night when Bucktail traveled to Juniata Christian to face the winless Lions.
The Bucks built a commanding 28-10 halftime lead and stretched the tally to 41-13 at one point in the third quarter before Bucktail head coach Travis Fantaskey allowed his JV unit to get some varsity time. The Lions closed the game on a 21-2 run, but the outcome was never in doubt as Bucktail won their second straight road game 43-34.
Brody Pentz led the Bucks with 11 points and Ethan Charcalla added 9 points. Troy Hoover paced Juniata Christian with a game-high 14 points.
Bucktail, now 7-8 on the year will more than likely hold down the fourth place spot in the PIAA District IV 1A standings, trailing NP-Liberty, Sullivan County and Northumberland Christian. The Bucks can make up some ground on Saturday if they can flip a 30-point loss to Muncy (14-2) back in December. Bucktail hosts the Indians in a Saturday night battle with the Indians.
Bucktail
Juniata Christian 8 2 4 19 34
Bucktail-43
Pentz 4 3-3 11, Whipp 3 1-2 7, T. Ditty 2 0-0 4, A. Ditty 3 2-2 8, Charcalla 4 0-0 9, Kalafut 0 0-0 0, Heiser 1 0-2 2, Mathews 1 0-0 2, Mansfield 0 0-0 0, Barnes 0 0-0 0, Steele 0 0-0 0, TOTALS- 18 6-9 43
3FG- 1 (Charcalla) Rebounds- 26 (Pentz 7, T. Ditty 7) Steals- 20 (A. Ditty 6, T. Ditty 5) Assists- 10 (Pentz 4) Blocks- 4 (Pentz, T. Ditty, A. Ditty, Mansfield)
