Neumann needs huge final quarter to put away Bucktail
By Bees O’Brien
FARWELL, PA – Bucktail trailed by just 9 points at halftime against the 2022 state finalists St. John Neumann on Monday night. Nobody in the Dale Florey Gymnasium expected that, but here it was and tiny Bucktail was in great position to pull off one of the biggest upsets in school history.
The Knights’ Division I prospect Davion Hill and his teammate Joe Savage had other plans; it just took them three quarters to figure out exactly what that plan would be. Ultimately the Knights prevailed, 96-54.
Head coach Mike Charcalla’s Bucks were playing with fire in their eyes Monday night. After falling behind 18-9 after one quarter, the Bucks would turn up the heat on the visiting Knights.
Brody Pentz was the driving force in the first half by scoring 14 of his team-high 16 points in the first half. Will Steele would score all 8 of his points in the second quarter as Bucktail matched the number one team in District 4’s 2A field basket for basket.
Hill and Messiah Baldwin kept Neumann in the game and helped keep their 9-point lead secure until halftime. The 19-19 second quarter was a pleasant surprise for Bucktail fans and the score started to trickle through social media and send shockwaves through the Mid Penn Conference.
Neumann led 37-28 at the break.
Hill’s 8 points and Baldwin’s 7 points in the second were greatly needed to match Bucktail’s tenacity.
Bucktail did not fade away easy on this night. Brett Mason’s 8 third quarter points and Johnny Green’s 6 points would help the Bucks score 18 points in the frame. The only problem was Neumann’s big man Joe Savage would catch a hot streak.
Savage would score 8 points and Hill would add 9, part of a 27-point Knights’ third quarter that seen their lead increase to 64-46.
The wheels would finally come off for Bucktail in the fourth as Savage would take over. His 12-point quarter would propel St. John Neumann to a blistering 32 point fourth quarter. Bucktail scored just 8 in the final frame to set the 96-54 final.
Davion Hill led all scorers with 37 points. Joe Savage would finish with 26 points and Messiah Baldwin would score 13 for a Neumann team that wrapped up their regular season undefeated in Mid Penn play and will meet Northwest on Friday at Millville for the conference championship game.
Brody Pentz led Bucktail with 16 points. Johnny Green finished with 10 points. Brett Mason and Will Steele each scored 8 points. Gary Whipp netted 5 points, Xander Shearer would score 3 points, Talan Ditty would net 2 points and Kyler Friese added 2 points to go along with his team-high 7 rebounds.
The Bucks are back in action on Wednesday and Thursday. Both home contests will be aired on The Record Online and both games have huge playoff implications.
The Bucks meet Montgomery on Wednesday. A win by Bucktail would lock them into the top 8 spots in the District IV 1A and would also eliminate Montgomery from any chance of a postseason appearance in the 2A field.
On Thursday night it will be a girls and boys varsity double header with Austin. The Lady Bucks and Lady Panthers clash at 6 p.m., with Bucktail needing the victory to lock up a playoff spot. The Bucktail vs. Austin boys contest will follow. The Bucks could possibly need this victory to extend their season.
The Austin boys program is coached by 1997 Bucktail graduate Jon Ogden, who scored 1,355 points in a Bucks’ jersey.
