By Bill Herr

The greatest Pirate basketball game I ever witnessed in an away game was against Liberty-Benton on February 12, 2000. LB was 17-0 and ranked 3d in the state. Bluffton had a talented team that was 16-2 and led by 6 ft-7 in Kyle Lowry and Michael Kingsley, who still holds the record (1,162) for most points scored in school history. Coach Rich Shaner said the team had a good previous season and had high expectations for the 1999-2000 season. The experienced team had strong guard play, post play also, and there was good balance on the scoring. The team was speedy, quick, and could shoot well both in the paint or outside the 3-point line.

The game was played on a Saturday night. Twenty-four hours earlier, Bluffton defeated Crestview to win the Northwest Conference Championship outright with a 10-0 record. On that same Friday night LB had won a tough game as well. LB was strong on their home court and was favored. The Pirates had other ideas.

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Bluffton started strong, played aggressive on offense and defense. Coach Shaner said after taking care of business Friday night, they focused on this game as though it was a tournament game. He said when tournament time came it was important to do this in preparation. Bluffton led through three quarters and at one point late in the game led by 14 points.

Then LB started a furious rally led by junior Brady Hone, who scored 27 points in the second half. He began raining threes. Coach Shaner said he would hit a three and then we would respond with a two. They began to foul Bluffton players, who responded with good free throw shooting. Hone hit yet another three making the score 67-64 in favor of the Pirates with 12 seconds to go.

Channel 44 recorded this game and at home I recorded it off television. But I forgot to write the final score and while watching it again recently I forgot who won and was nervous as though I was watching it live. When Bluffton took the ball out with 12 seconds left, Kingsley was immediately fouled and he calmly sank two foul shots. Unbelievably the Eagles junior guard Hones quickly hit another incredible 3-point shot off balance even when being guarded closely. He ended up with 30 points. But with only 2 seconds to go, Bluffton inbounded the ball and the game was over. The final score was 69-67. The Pirate fans stormed the Eagles court in joyful relief. LB never led once in the game, but it was a hard fought victory.

Coach Shaner described each player on the team with the number of points scored by those who played in the BHS-LB game after their name. 

Craig Metzger (9)--Floor leader who got everyone involved with what we were doing.

Kurt McKibben (14)--Fundamentally sound who was always in the right place at the right time, played excellent defense.

Kyle Lowry (20)--Great hands, moved well for a big guy, mastered the bank shot.

Michael Kingsley (7)--Extremely quick, had another gear when he needed it, had an elevated jumper.

Ryan McCullough (2)--Used his size in the post but could step outside as well, an excellent leaper.

Cody Davis (12)--Hard worker who could shoot inside or outside.

Jon Weitholter (5)--Great understanding of the game, excellent skills, good outside shooter.

Jeremy Parkins - Tore his ACL against Delphos Jefferson, high motor, an excellent leaper.

Ryan Dunlap, Nick Roby, Kyle Gratz - Outstanding teammates.