The Pointers used a 16-0 run to build a comfortable lead and cruised past Greenwood 81-55 in a 5A-West contest Tuesday at H.B. Stewart Bulldog Arena.
"This is year 36 (of coaching), and my stomach was in knots before the game," Van Buren Coach Brad Autry said. "I just wanted us to be aggressive, and I thought we did a good job with that. We weren't perfect in a lot of stuff we did, but I was pleased with the effort."
The Pointers (17-6, 6-1) led 16-11 after a quarter, then blew the game open in the next period. Starting with a Truett Cazzell layup at the 7:00 mark and finishing with a Kryee Dumas layup with 3:25 left, Van Buren saw its advantage balloon to 33-13. Gabe Johnson paced the Van Buren run, scoring six of his 11 points during that run.
Johnson also controlled the boards for the Pointers, grabbing 17 of the team's 41 rebounds before Autry cleared his bench midway in the fourth quarter
"That is not uncommon for him," Autry said of Johnson's rebounding performance. "I also thought Abe (Cone) and Kannen (Russell) came off the bench and gave us some big minutes in the second quarter that sparked us during the run. They changed the game in a positive fashion."
About the only real mistake in the second quarter for the Pointers was getting assessed a technical foul with 21.1 seconds left for having six players on the court. Still Van Buren was comfortably ahead 38-21 at halftime.
The lead was as large as 51-23 on a Brodie Myers basket with 4:12 left in the third quarter. Myers scored a game-high 27 to pace the Pointers while Cazzell joined Johnson with 11 points and Dumas added 10.
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