By Rob Potter
ROSCOE — February 1, 2002 – A second quarter scoring outburst and a balanced scoring attack helped Roscoe defeat archrival Livingston Manor Tuesday night in an OCIAA Division V boys’ basketball game.
The Blue Devils outscored the Wildcats by a 17-6 margin in the second quarter, turning a four-point lead into a 39-24 halftime advantage.
In the second half, Roscoe (7-6, 2-1 OCIAA) continued to get scoring from several different players. As a result, the Blue Devils posted a 81-47 win over neighboring Manor (4-10, 2-1 OCIAA).
Near the end of a fast-paced first quarter in which the teams traded baskets and the lead, Roscoe’s Keith Buck gave his team the lead for good. The senior forward drilled a three-point shot with 48 seconds left in the quarter to give the Blue Devils a 20-18 lead.
Teammate Dave Eggleton then hit a baseline jumper with 15 seconds left to give Roscoe a 22-18 lead heading into the second period.
Junior guard Brian Ballard swished a three-pointer 18 seconds into that pivotal second quarter, which gave the Blue Devils a 25-18 advantage. Buck followed with a three-point basket of his own a minute later for a 28-18 lead.
Roscoe then held a double-digit lead for the rest of the contest.
“I thought that the second quarter was definitely the key,” Roscoe Coach Fred Ahart said. “I think we played our best defense of the year in those eight minutes.”
The veteran coach also pointed to balanced scoring and taking care of the basketball as the keys to the win.
“We had only seven turnovers tonight,” Ahart said. “With their intense defensive pressure and playing on this court, that’s pretty good.”
Leading Roscoe offensively were Ballard and Buck, who netted 24 and 18 points, respectively. Also reaching double figures for the Blue Devils were Dan Park (14 points) and Brian Bury (12).
Tim Haas added nine points.
In addition, Buck and Bury each recorded double doubles as they had more than 10 rebounds to go with their aforementioned point totals. Buck grabbed 13 rebounds and Bury pulled down 14 boards on the evening.
Ballard and Park dished out seven and four assists, respectively.
Manor Coach Les Hyde noted that his team seemed to have “dead legs” in the second half of the game, which he said was the result of a hard-fought win over Chapel Field the previous night.
“But we’re not making any excuses,” Hyde said. “Roscoe played well and they are always tough at home. This is a hard floor to play on.”
Wildcats Jason Kean and Travis Morton each scored 13 points in the contest. Brian Will had eight points and John Schleiermacher added seven.
“We’re a young team and we’ll keep improving,” Hyde said. “I’m proud of my team. They played hard and didn’t give up.”