Buchanan completed a fourth-quarter come-from-behind win on Friday night to defeat Clovis High 47-45. The result leaves the Cougars still searching for their first win of 2020.
For Buchanan (14-12, 4-3 TRAC), much of the night had not gone their way; three-point shots came up short; rebounds could not be made; the Bears struggled to produce offense underneath the rim. Remarkably, the game was still not out of reach when the team began their remarkable run that awakened the long-quiet student section.
Bears head coach Brooks Malm credited Austin Villareal with playing a crucial part of swinging the momentum back into Buchanan’s favor. Villareal, a senior playing in his final game at home, was credited with two steals in a short period that gave Buchanan the chance to produce the offense they needed.
“Villareal,” Malm said. “…he is a senior, it’s senior night, he doesn’t start normally, he has had a lot of ups and downs but he deserved to have that moment. He single-handedly brought us back, he had two steals, two layups… which got us going,” Malm described.
After just nine points in the second quarter, Buchanan needed something to change if they wanted to keep in touch with Clovis High (10-15, 0-7 TRAC) who entered the final quarter with a five-point lead. What they found was a game-high 16 point fourth quarter and a way to stall the Clovis offense, limiting the Cougars to nine points in the final frame.
The Bears had been forced to take low-percentage shots from outside of the perimeter for much of the game — these shots rarely went the Bears way. Changing the game plan when those shots fell flat was not a viable option according to Malm.
“We don’t have anybody to throw it into, we’re not very big. They [Clovis High] did a really good job of defending the rim and making us shoot threes, we just weren’t making them. Nothing really changed, we were just lucky to have a couple of things bounce our way. Sometimes that happens,” Malm said.
Buchanan will travel to Central, Clovis West, and Clovis North for their final games of the season.
Clovis will travel to North before hosting Clovis East and Clovis West to end their regular season.