Buffalo Island Central swept a pair of non-conference home games to improve to 7-2 on the season, defeating rival Manila 53-50 Tuesday night before downing Crowley's Ridge Academy in a come from behind 60-50 win Thursday night in senior boys basketball action.
Jeremy Smith pumped in 18 points, including a perfect 5-5 performance from the foul line, while Brandon Lairsey just missed a double-double, scoring 13 points while grabbing nine boards to lead the Mustang attack. Daniel Davis also hit double digits, scoring 11 points. James Tate scored eight points while Logan Dewitt tallied two and Josh McCormick pitched in one point to round out the BIC scoring attack.
BIC hit 12-17 foul shots and drilled three treys on the night. The Lions took a 15-12 lead after the opening period and held a slim 24-23 edge at the half before the Mustangs rallied in the third quarter, outscoring Manila 16-10 to take a 39-34 lead heading into the final frame.
Brady Jones led Manila with 13 points while Scott Eubanks and Blake Carr added 12 and 10 points respectively to pace the Lions in scoring. Zack Day tallied six while Dylan Bogle, Dillon Burrow and Garrett Baker all chipped in three points apiece. Manila finished the night seven of 11 from the line and drilled nine treys, including three by Carr.
In the junior high game, BIC came away with a thrilling 46-43 overtime win. Manila's Kyle Joyner drained a three pointer with six seconds left in regulation to force overtime, but the Mustangs got a pair of field goals from Tyler Myers while Austin Pike hit four free throws to seal the victory for BIC.
Austin Pike led BIC with a double-double, scoring a game high 22 points while snaring 13 rebounds. Erik Navarro added eight while Alan Carmichael tallied seven. Myers scored five points while Hunter Costner added four points.
Joyner led Manila with 16 points while Thomas Davis scored 13. Daniel Dees netted six, Caleb Reinhart tallied four while Alldon Skelton and Gavin Parker chipped in two points apiece for the Lions.
BIC took a 13-12 lead in the see-saw game after one period of play before Manila rallied for a 22-20 edge at the half. The two teams were tied 30-30 entering the final quarter and battled to a 40-40 tie after regulation.
BIC trailed 48-47 with 1:09 left to play against CRA, but outscored the Falcons 13-2 in the final minute to pull away for a 10 point victory Thursday night.
James Tate pumped in a game high 29 points while pulling down 11 boards to lead the BIC offensive attack. Brandon Lairsey and Daniel Davis also hit double digits, scoring 10 points each.
In junior high action, BIC saw its record drop to 5-4 with a 44-41 loss to the Falcons. The Mustangs trailed 40-28 with 5:00 to go in the game before rallying to cut the CRA lead to three in the waning seconds, but BIC missed a three pointer at the buzzer, as the Falcons hung on for the victory.
Alan Carmichael led BIC with 14 points while Austin Pike added 10.
In an early season shoot-out, the Lady Mustangs rallied for a 55-50 victory Thursday night at Marmaduke in a key 2A-3 conference game.
Brittany Fowler scored a game high 24 points while snaring eight rebounds and dishing out six assists as the Mustangs remained unbeaten on the season with an overall record of 7-0 and 1-0 in league play.
Callie Price led Marmaduke with 17 points as the Lady Greyhounds dropped their first game of the season. Marmaduke (7-1, 0-1 2A-3) led 22-12 after the first quarter and 30-26 at the half. BIC sliced the Greyhound lead to 42-40 entering the final period and outscored Marmaduke 15-8 in the fourth quarter to pull out the win.
In junior high play, BIC came away with a 36-25 victory behind Hannah Poe's 14 point performance. The win upped the Lady Mustang's record to 6-1 on the season and 1-0 in league play.
The senior boys will return to action Tuesday night, hosting Maynard, before taking on arch-rival Riverside Friday night at Monette. The Lady Mustangs will play Maynard Monday night at Monette before playing host to Riverside Thursday night.
The junior boys will open play in the Bay Invitational Tournament Monday afternoon at 4:30. The ninth seeded Mustangs will play eighth seeded Marmaduke. The junior Lady Mustangs will enter the tournament as the number three seed and will face sixth seeded McArthur Tuesday night at 8:15.