Bucs go East to sweep series

Basketball on court

By Bob Kopp
BDR Sports Correspondent
ROCKFORD – After a crushing 61-54 loss to North at home on Wednesday, Belvidere traveled to Rockford to take on another of the NIC-10’s teams capable of beating almost everybody while definitely prone to losing to anybody.
Trailing East 12-9 after the first quarter and squandering several leads in the second half before winning 60-58 in overtime, a Bucs partisan quipped, “An ugly win is better than an ugly loss.”
It wasn’t pretty.
Plagued by a plethora of mind-numbing turnovers – I mean lots of ’em! – precipitated by passes in the paint requiring Red Sea miracles for completion, it looked like a team still smarting from a spanking from its cross-town rivals would have more wounds to lick.
Yet, the Bucs who will not be out-coached, out-hustled, or out-toughed took control in the last minute of overtime despite missing five of six from the foul line with less than 20 seconds to play and making the rock look like a hot potato.
With calculators incapable of tabulating turnovers as the E-Rabs and Bucs seemed equally determined to lose, Belvidere controlled the last 48 seconds as senior Deante Barnes showed his high ceiling for the next level with a spectacular block that deflated the host’s hopes of making up for their 60-55 loss back on Dec. 18. Barnes led the Bucs with 19 points.
Junior Joey Hernandez hit a three-pointer from way downtown with 16 seconds to go in regulation that sent the Bucs into overtime and went two for two from the charity stripe with 25 seconds to go that provided a 59-54 cushion to the penultimate margin of victory. He totaled 10 points for the evening.
Playing with icy composure and unstoppable determination, junior Austin Revolinski played most of the fourth and overtime with four fouls while dominating the boards with Barnes and junior Xavier Dent along with his 17 points.