JOHNSON CITY — Happy at home in December, University High came out smoking hot and dropped 27 first-quarter points on KACHEA.
The second period wasn’t quite as friendly, and the game turned out to be a four-quarter battle.
But the Buccaneers didn’t let the Wildcats stay happy, eventually working their way to a 63-46 win in boys high school basketball Tuesday night at Brooks Gym.
University High (3-3) scored the last eight points of the game.
“I think the kids got too comfortable and stopped playing,” Bucs coach Herman Rice said of the dropoff after the first quarter. “You have to give KACHEA credit. They battled and played hard.”
University High scored only 10 second-quarter points and took a none-too-comfortable 37-24 lead into the locker room. Rice said he was concerned about a letdown after recent tough losses and an important conference game coming up Thursday against North Greene.
“We talked to the kids about this being a possible trap game,” Rice said. “We started out ready to play, but we sure weren’t ready in the middle of the game. We’ve had breakdowns in the middle of the game where we’re just a totally different team. That’s something we’ve got to fix.”
University High outscored KACHEA 15-12 in the third period, but the Wildcats battled back to within a single-digit deficit in the fourth quarter.
When things got tight, however, the Bucs found their swagger again.
John Carter led University High with 17 points, with 15 coming in the first half. Hank Stott added 13 points. Jacob Pealer came through with nine points, and freshman Brady Weems chipped in with eight. Included in Weems’ total were a pair of third-quarter 3-pointers when KACHEA was trying to make a move.
The most positive takeaway?
“We ran the clock and had more points than they did at the end,” Rice said. “I didn’t see a whole lot more positive things out there.”
Preston Diamond led KACHEA with 17 points and Caleb Graham scored 14.
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