Mustangs turn back Rebels 64-54

Buffalo Island Central overcame 19 turnovers and held off Riverside's second half surge to post a hard fought 64-54 victory over the Rebels in 2A-3 senior boys basketball Friday night at the Mustang Athletic Complex in Monette.

Junior guard Trey DePriest had a big night for the Mustangs, pumping in 21 points while pulling down 16 rebounds. Andrew McFarlin and Dax Hurst also notched double figures, scoring 16 and 11 points respectively. Travon Cobb chipped in nine while Cory Turner pitched in seven. The Mustangs clicked at the free throw line, hitting 17-23 attempts, and blistered the nets, dropping in nine treys on the evening.

Riverside's Braden Overman also produced a double-double, scoring a game high 23 points while grabbing 14 boards. The 5'10" junior guard also dished out seven assists. Gavin Stone tallied 13, Chris Sain scored five, Jon Milligan had four while Luke Baker, Gannon Crews and Grant Mason all added three points apiece. The Rebels made just three of nine foul shots and hit five three pointers.

BIC's Taylor Gipson (23) looks for room amongst an array of Rebel defenders in junior high basketball action Thursday night at Monette. The Rebels knocked off the Mustangs 36-25.

BIC jumped to an early lead thanks to three pointers by Hurst and McFarlin to grab a 12-5 advantage after the opening period of play. The Mustangs began the second quarter with back to back treys from DePriest and Hurst to stretch their lead to 18-5. Riverside battled back, going on a 9-0 run, capped off by Overman's driving lay-in to slice the BIC lead to 18-14 at the 4:15 mark. BIC went on a 7-0 spurt to go back up 11 before the Rebels charged back to close the half, slicing the Mustang lead to 28-22 on Overman's three point play just before intermission.

The Mustangs led 37-36 late in the third quarter before Stone's offensive stick-back gave Riverside a 38-37 edge with 1:48 left in the period. After swapping buckets, DePriest drained a long three pointer from the right corner, putting BIC on top 42-40. The Rebels looked to be playing for the final shot of the period, but launched a three with 13 seconds left that missed the mark, giving BIC one last offensive possession. The Mustangs took advantage when Hurst buried a long three out of the right corner, putting BIC on top 45-40 entering the final frame.

The Rebels pulled to within three points on two occasions in the fourth period, the last after a Stone bucket with 3:25 left in the game, but could get no closer as the Mustangs closed out the victory from the foul line, hitting 10-14 down the stretch, including four in a row by DePriest.

"It was a typical BIC-Riverside game," said Mustang Coach Bill Taylor. "No one ever gets too far ahead of the other in this series. We got ahead early and Riverside battled back just like we thought they would. We made some plays. We did a good job on the boards tonight. Riverside had a lot of one and out possessions. We did a good job guarding Stone and Baker. We turned it over too much but we hit our free throws. It was good to see us finally make some threes. Trey (DePriest) really controlled the boards on the defensive end. We are just thrilled to get the win and start off 1-0 in the conference."

"We didn't shoot well at all tonight from the field or from the free throw line," said Rebel Coach Buster Campbell. "We played horrible starting the game but battled back and took the lead, but we ended up taking too many bad shots. BIC really kicked us around on the boards. Braden Overman played a great game tonight for us. BIC shot the ball well, but that happens when you don't play good defense. I thought our defense had gotten better, but we got exposed tonight. We've got to go back to work and get better. BIC has a good ball club and this conference is tough. It's going to be a dog fight every night."

The Rebels began the week with a 70-47 thrashing of Marmaduke. Baker led the Rebels with 19 points while Stone and Crews added 16 and 11 points respectively. Sain and Dylan Austin added six points each, Overman and Mason had five apiece while Milligan chipped in two.

In junior high play, Riverside downed BIC 36-25. Steven Stroud led the Rebels with 11 while Latrell Brown added 10. Demo Bowers scored six, Ryan Austin had five while D.J. Bowers pitched in three.

Noah Teeter led the Mustangs with 11, Kaleb Dublin netted six while Kyle Thrasher and Taylor Gipson added four points apiece.

Riverside also defeated Marmaduke 46-18 with 11 Rebels producing points. Brown topped Riverside with 10, Demo Bowers scored nine, Austin netted six, Stroud had five while Marquis Nelson and Luke Adams contributed three points apiece. Hunter Swaim, D.J. Bowers, Gage Crews, Peyton Archer and Chris Berry all chipped in two points each.

BIC returns to action Monday night, traveling to Piggott for a nonconference match-up with the Mohawks. The Mustangs will host Crowley's Ridge Academy in a 2A-3 conference game Tuesday night at the MAC.

Riverside will be off this week.