Bucktail’s offense struggles in 51-40 “Pink Out” loss

By Bees O’Brien

Farwell- Bucktail head coach Travis Fantaskey was hoping his squad could sense the urgency as January rolled around. The Bucks, a qualifier for the PIAA 1A state tournament the past two seasons found themselves at 2-6 and a loss at home to a potential quarterfinal playoff opponent in Meadowbrook Christian could put the Bucks on the outside looking in.

18 turnovers and poor shooting did exactly that. Meadowbrook built a slim 20-16 halftime lead, while the Bucks never managed to get any closer than eight points in the second half. The end result would see the Lions pick up a 51-40 road win. 

The Bucks started off on the right track when freshman Otis Emerick connected for the game’s first basket of the night. Meadowbrook took advantage of 4 Bucktail turnovers in a two-minute flurry to go up 11-8 at the end of one quarter.

Bucktail cut the deficit to just one point when Corbin Pentz slashed through the lane for a basket.

A 5-0 Lion’s run built their lead to 16-10, forcing Fantaskey to burn a timeout. The Lions closed out the quarter with a 4-2 advantage to set the halftime score at 20-14. Bucktail wouldn’t get any closer.

Meadowbrook’s lead swelled to 30-16 following a 10-2 run to start the second half. Emerick’s second basket of the game pulled the Bucks to within ten at 30-20.

Pentz capped off a 6-2 Bucktail rally with an offensive putback. 

Trailing 32-22 to start the fourth quarter, Gavin Pick scored on an offensive rebound. Bucktail defense began to give up easy transition points in the final quarter. The Lions netted 19 points in the frame to Bucktail’s 18. It was the best quarter of the night for the home team, but their inability to stop the Lions on the defensive end proved to be the difference.

Corbin Pentz’s 13 points and 10 rebounds earned him a double-double to lead the Bucks. Pick finished with 11 points and Aidan Ditty dropped in 10 points. Pick also dished out a team-high 5 assists. Otis Emerick added 4 points, while Teagan Stone netted two in the loss.

The Bucks will now take their 2-7 mark on the road Wednesday when they meet Benton (2-5).

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Bucktail8681840

Bucktail (40)

Pick 4 3-5  11, A. Ditty 4 0-2  10, Stone 1 0-0  2, Pentz 5 2-3  13, Emerick 2 0-1  4, J. Ditty 0 0-0  0, Totals 16 5-11  40

3FG- 3 (A. Ditty 2, Pentz) Rebounds- 34 (Pentz 10) Assists- 8 (Pick 5) Steals- 6 A. Ditty 2, Pentz 2) Blocks- 2 (A. Ditty, Stone)