Young Bison show potential in season opening loss

BY STAN MADDUX

The young New Buffalo High School boys’ basketball team showed real promise in losing the season opener at home Tuesday, Dec. 6.

The Bison with just two seniors 280 pound frame to sink two lay-ups and Tripp dropped another three point shot into the net. Tripp then made a free throw after stealing the ball at half court and being fouled while going up for a lay-up. often had the lead but ran out of gas during the second half in falling to Decatur 45-35.

Decatur with four senior starters seemed to wear down the Bison, who had three freshmen on the court at times.

Head coach Nate Tripp said his team could have won the game if not for mistakes along with lack of stamina and size typical for first time varsity players.

“A lot of it is just a strength issue,” he said.

The Bison took the lead for the first time early in the first quarter when freshman Sam Tripp, after grabbing an offensive rebound close to the rim, put the ball back up and into the net.

New Buffalo regained the lead on a three point shot by Tripp.

The first quarter ended with the Bison leading 14-11 after freshman Nick Haskins hit a lay-up at the buzzer.

The Raiders, though, jumped out to a 10 point lead in the second quarter.

However, the Bison came roaring back with three quick buckets from beyond the three point stripe by Tripp and senior Landon Haskins before halftime.

At the start of the third quarter, New Buffalo went on a seven point run to take a 31-24 lead.

Junior Cameron Forker used his 6’2” and Decatur, after turning up the heat on defense, scored the next 17 points. Much of the scoring during the Raiders’ run was a result of turnovers by the overwhelmed Bison, whose shooting also became ice cold. Tripp led the Bison with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Forker contributed six points while Landon Haskins scored five points. Freshman James Shaw added four points. Junior Elliot Bourne had three points along with six steals.

Right now, Tripp said his focus is more on the squad improving enough to have a chance at a fourth district title in his fifth year as coach.

He said his players need to get better in areas like consistency in running the offense and communicating with each other on the floor.

Tripp also said he was pleased at the level of play of his freshmen along with Bourne, who he believes can be more of a scorer.

“He’s got to get a little more confidence and shoot the ball. He can shoot that shot and he needs to shoot that shot,” he said.

SPORTS

From the Bleachers

COLUMN BY KURT MARGGRAF IN CHICAGO

Itook a pleasant

Sunday morning drive from Chicago to New Buffalo to pay a visit to The Sports Card Shop because the radio voice of the Cubs for the last 27 years, Pat Hughes, was going to be there signing scorecards, baseballs, posters, etc.

The event was to last for two hours, and I arrived a few minutes before the scheduled starting time. I walked in and was greeted warmly by the staff and fellow Pat Hughes fans, of which there were many. A long line snaked to the back of the shop, so I went to the back of the line and patiently waited for the line to move. Even though the shop was crowded, everyone was nice and polite and before long I was face to face with the iconic Cub sportscaster and newly elected member of the Cubs hall of fame. Pat couldn’t have been nicer as I took a moment of his time to praise him for the great job he does and he expressed his hopes for the Cubs to be contenders again.u

Mr. Hughes has been calling games for the Cubs longer than anyone except the legendary Jack Brickhouse. His compatibility with his radio partner Ron Santo was a thing of beauty, and that same feeling comes through with his current partner, Ron Coomer. Pat called the ground ball to Bryant who threw to Rizzo for the out that made the Cubs World Series champions, something I’ll never forget. By the way, before coming to Chicago, Pat worked with Bob Uecker in Milwaukee. If you don’t remember Bob, his catchphrase was “I must be in the front row”. So New Buffalo, if you’re into collecting memorabilia or just want to support a well run local business, pay a visit to Rex and Rick at The Sports Card Shop.

Aristotle said, “To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake, it is necessary to stand out in the cold.”

Be kind to one another. Keep smiling. Talk to you next week. Peace, love, and happiness.

Lady Bison struggling early in basketball season

The New Buffalo High School girls’ basketball team is off to a rough start to the season.

Head coach Dave Kelly feels things will get better from having players with a desire to learn and work hard to get better.

“I think we’ll get there. These girls are competitive. I like their competitive nature,” he said.

The Lady Bison opened the season Nov. 29 with a 75-14 loss at Brandywine then fell to River Valley 49-25 at home Friday, Dec. 2.

New Buffalo was no match for the outside shooting from the Mustangs and the ability of their offense to move with the ball down the court.

The Lady Bison trailed 13-2 early in the second quarter but River Valley started to put the game away

BY STAN MADDUX with back to back three point shots from senior Alexis McCarty and junior Natalyn Heckathorn.

Another three point bucket from Heckathorn gave the Mustangs a 22 point lead.

The lead was cut to 16 points at halftime with help from senior Bella Notorangelo quickly sinking two short bank shots.

The Mustangs started the third quarter with three quick buckets by McCarty, who scored four of the points on layups off steals.

The lead grew to 47-16 mostly from long jump shots by McCarty and Heckathorn along with sophomore Kayanee Lange converting a nice pass into a lay-up.

All but one of the buckets scored in the fourth quarter came from New Buffalo.

Senior Sami Smith scored four of the points by sinking a short bank shot and driving in for a layup after stealing the ball.

The other points for New Buffalo in the final period came from a baseline jumper by senior Jordan Byrk, layup from Notorangelo and free throw by freshman Angelina Byrk.

Notorangelo led the Lady Bison on offense with six points.

McCarty scored 19 points for River Valley while Heckathorn and Lange contributed 16 points and 8 points respectively.

Kelly said his team with a lot of inexperienced players will improve as they learn the game better and improve on fundamentals as the season progresses.

“We’ll take what happened tonight and try to clean things up,” he said.