By Cort Reynolds
BLUFFTON - Homestanding Bluffton shot its way to a big early lead and went on to whip local rival Pandora-Gilboa 56-32 in a lopsided non-conference girls basketball matchup Saturday afternoon.
Laykin Garmatter fired in 10 of her game-high 17 points in the first period to lead the Lady Pirates to a 20-6 advantage.
Bluffton extended its margin to 32-13 at halftime, and they outscored the Lady Rockets 14-9 in the third stanza to build a 46-22 cushion.
The teams played to a 10-10 final quarter after the outcome was decided.
By Cort Reynolds
BLUFFTON - Red-hot host Bluffton tossed in a school-record 25 three-point goals and surpassed the century mark in a 101-46 rout of local non-conference rival Cory-Rawson Saturday night in a historic Pirate boys basketball blowout.
Pirate Trenton Donley splashed five trifectas in the third period to lead a 33-12 Bluffton outburst. He netted 31 points by draining a school single-game record nine triples.
By Cort Reynolds
MIDDLE POINT - Visiting Bluffton dominated the final three quarters to beat Lincolnview 53-38 in a Northwest Conference girls basketball contest Thursday night.
The Lady Pirates trailed 16-15 after a high-scoring first period. But they outscored the Lady Lancers 26-16 over the middle quarters to seize a 41-32 advantage heading to the final stanza.
The Pirate girls then doubled up Lincolnview 12-6 in the fourth quarter to grab the victory going away. The visitors outscored the Lancers 38-22 over the final 24 minutes.
By Cort Reynolds
PAULDING - Visiting Bluffton got outscored by eight points in the second half and lost a tough 52-47 battle at Paulding in Northwest Conference boys basketball action Friday night.
The Pirates led 27-24 at the half after a strong 17-11 second period. The teams were tied 36-36 heading to the final quarter in the tight contest.
The Panthers then out-pointed Bluffton 16-11 in the fourth period as senior guard Blake McGarvey netted 10 of his game-high 24 points to pull out the win.
By Cort Reynolds
BLUFFTON - Host Bluffton edged Fort Jennings 69-66 in a tight non-conference boys basketball battle Saturday night.
And, Bluffton defeated visiting Van Buren 39-31 in a low-scoring, non-conference girls' basketball game Saturday afternoon.
Accounts of both games are part of this story.
Boys' over Ft. Jennings
The Pirates and FJ battled to a 37-37 halftime tie as Trenton Donley drained four trifectas. Bluffton edged ahead with a 20-17 third quarter behind eight Carson Soper points.
By Cort Reynolds
BLUFFTON - Bluffton's Riley Eachus stole the ball and canned a three-point shot at the buzzer to give Bluffton a 51-48 upset win over league leader Paulding in a Northwest Conference girls basketball thriller Thursday night.
The Lady Panthers led 11-6 after the first period, but Bluffton rallied to a 25-21 halftime edge. Five Pirate girls scored in their 19-10 second quarter run.
Bluffton held a 38-36 third quarter edge after a close 15-13 stanza.
