Striving to resurrect team scoring, the Bedford High School Buccaneers begin their 2024 schedule with a boys’ basketball rematch at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Newton South.
BHS defeated the Lions at home on Dec. 22, winning by six points after withstanding a 15-0 fourth-quarter run.
Head Coach Anthony Halls expects a “challenging game. It’s hard to beat a team twice in two weeks.”
The Bucs broke 70 points in their first two games, but totaled 84 in their last two. They scored 42 in the opening round of the Romano Christmas Tournament on Thursday, but that was enough to beat Burlington, held to 40. However, Friday night Bedford was on the short end of a 49-42 score, losing the championship game to host Tewksbury Memorial. Bedford shot just 33 percent, 17 for 51.
Halls remained upbeat. “We’re 4-1, and after five games I’ll take that,” he said. “Our offense starts on defense,” he stressed, and through five games, opponents are averaging fewer than 50 points. “We have to make more shots in critical times.”
On Friday against Tewksbury, Bedford was clinging to life after the first quarter as the Redmen shot 8-for-11 and grabbed an 18-7 lead. Then the Bucs flipped the game, outscoring Tewksbury 18-4 for a halftime lead of 25-22. The Redmen missed 9 of 11 shots. Justice Buchannan and Mekhi Volcy scored seven apiece, and Bedford outrebounded the home team, 10-5.
But Tewksbury bagged consecutive three-point shots in the first minute of the third quarter and took the lead for good. Despite being outscored 16-6 in the period, Bedford was still just seven points behind. But they couldn’t build fourth-quarter offensive momentum, sinking just four of 11 shots with a single offensive rebound.
Bedford has struggled from outside the three-point arc; Friday they converted three and missed 13.
“I think overall they are getting their shots, but sometimes they feel rushed. I’m hoping to see steady improvement in that area,” the coach said.
Buchannan finished with 16 points and three steals vs. Tewksbury. Volcy scored 12, and Camdyn Shoesmith added eight, with three of those baskets were putbacks. Shoesmith had 12 rebounds, seven on the offensive glass, but only attempted one second-half shot.
“Teams have done a good job against Cam, trying to take his offense away,” the coach acknowledged.
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