Mike Ridaught
Winning seasons have been hard to come by for Buchholz boys basketball.
The Bobcats have had just one winning season in the past 12 years, and postseason wins have been almost nonexistent.
But that changed on Thursday night at Bud Seymour Gymnasium as No. 4 seed Buchholz never trailed in a 59-48 win against No. 5 seed Forest (Ocala) in a Class 6A-Region 1 Quarterfinal.
“Man, it’s survive and advance, right?” said first-year Buchholz coach Elliot Harris. “I’m just happy for the guys. Years of not being able to touch the playoffs and have a great season and be able to win on your home floor for a first round, it’s a great win.”
Senior Palmer Walton scored a game-high 23 points as Buchholz (18-10) won its first playoff game since 2009, a total of 15 years ago when the Bobcats made a run to the Class 6A regional finals.
The senior set the tone early with back-to-back 3-pointers from the top of the key, including his second from NBA range as Buchholz took a quick 6-0 lead with 6:15 to play in the opening quarter.
“He picked the spots,” Harris said. “He wanted it. In pregame, we were talking about Hernan Cortes, when he went to Mexico and he said, ‘burn the boats,’ like there was no looking back. It’s either do or die and he had that attitude tonight.”
Walton finished with 10 points in the opening quarter as the Bobcats led 17-10 at the end of the first quarter.
“They were playing a little lackluster defense, so I was just taking advantage,” he said. “Lucas (Bhatia) definitely hit me a couple of times and it was beneficial for us, and I appreciate Lucas.”
At the start of the second quarter, senior Nate Muchnick and junior Cedric Collins had consecutive baskets to push the lead to 21-10 with 5:29 to play in the half.
However, Forest (20-8), which went over five minutes without a point spanning the end of the first and the start of the second quarter, was able to answer with its own 10-0 run thanks to the shooting of senior Anthony Rivera (18 points).
Rivera, who made six 3-pointers on the night, hit back-to-back 3s to help spark the run.
His right corner 3-ball cut it to single digits at 21-13, followed by a left-wing 3-pointer to make it a 5-point game at 21-16.
Following two free throws by senior Zay McCoy (team-high 22 points), and his jumper in the paint, the lead was trimmed to one, 21-20, with 3:19 to play in the half.
Although Buchholz answered with a bucket by senior Dylan Lloyd (6 points) to take a 23-20 lead, Rivera drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game at 23-23 with 2:07 to play in the half.
But the Wildcats could never take the lead.
A layup by sophomore Jamison McTureous with 1:14 to play in the second quarter gave Buchholz a 25-23 lead, followed by a four-point advantage, 27-23, at the half.
Forest trailed by double digits, 34-23, in the third quarter, but they whittled it down to a two-possession game on a right-wing 3-pointer by Rivera.
They made it a four-point game, 38-34, on another 3-pointer by Rivera, this time from the top of the key.
However, Walton answered with a 3-pointer of his own from the top of the key on the next possession as the Bobcats kept their distance. Walton scored 13 of his points in the second half.
Junior Collin Dunmore also gave Buchholz a lift off the bench, scoring nine of his 11 points in the second half.
“Collin’s real long, rangy, athletic, he causes problems on the defensive end, and he goes and rebounds the ball,” Harris said. “He caused problems for the other team, and he had a big night for us tonight.”
Dunmore also made 3-of-4 free throws in the fourth quarter.
“It was a great win, bounced back off of last week against GHS,” he said. “We knew we had certain keys (desire, hustle, rebound & 50-50 balls) that we had to follow for us to win this game, and we did that.”
Buchholz, which outscored Forest, 19-0, off the bench, will travel to top seed Wiregrass Ranch (Wesley Chapel) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the regional semifinals.
The Bulls (25-3) advanced with a 79-66 win at home against Milton.
3 Trenton 49, 2 Chiefland 41
Heading into Thursday night’s 1A-Region 4 Semifinal, the No. 3 seed Tigers had lost two of three games against the No. 2 seed Indians, including a 61-28 blowout loss to Chiefland in last week’s 1A-District 7 semifinals.
However, the Tigers split the series and were victorious when it counted most in a 49-41 win on the road to advance to the region final.
Freshman Mason VunCannon had 16 points and junior Clark Hausner added 15 for Trenton, which improved to 14-11.
“Truly a great program win tonight,” said Trenton coach Eric Bullis. “Our kids showed great mental fortitude to come back after losing to the same team by 33 exactly a week ago and go into their building and get out with a regional semifinal win. I couldn’t be prouder of the team and we’re looking forward to the regional finals on Tuesday.”
Chiefland’s season ended at 11-12, while Trenton will travel to defending 1A state champion Williston on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
The top seed Red Devils crushed No. 4 seed Pahokee, 76-18, in the other 1A-Region 4 Semifinal.
Boys Basketball
Thursday, Feb. 15
1A-Region 3 Semifinals
4 Fort White 56, 1 Hawthorne 51
2 Hilliard 68, 3 Newberry 67 (OT)
1A-Region 4 Semifinals
1 Williston 76, 4 Pahokee 18
3 Trenton 49, 2 Chiefland 41
2A-Region 1 Quarterfinals
Munroe (Quincy) 69, 5 Oak Hall 52
3A-Region 1 Quarterfinals
Providence (Jacksonville) 69, 8 P.K. Yonge 22
5A-Region 1 Quarterfinals
2 Rickards (Tallahassee) 68, 7 Columbia (Lake City) 40
6A-Region 1 Quarterfinals
4 Buchholz 59, 5 Forest (Ocala) 48
6 Gainesville 47, 3 Oakleaf (Orange Park) 46