By: Edward Kiesendahl
Over the past week the Wallenpaupack Buckhorns boys’ basketball team played two games that were both dominated by their star center, Nick VanBuskirk. The first of the two games came against league rival Abington Heights. The Comets took down the Buckhorns earlier in the season 63-39. The Bucks did keep it close for the first half in that game, and they hoped they could keep up that same level of competition for the whole game this time. They were nearly successful. Halfway through the third quarter it was only a twelve-point game, but this would be where the Comets would go on a run to take the win 84-54. Still, this game was a step in the right direction for Paupack with Nick VanBuskirk seeming unstoppable scoring twenty-four points, and the team as a whole showed a tremendous amount of fight compared to their game against Scranton Prep earlier that week.
There would be no rest for the Buckhorns as they would have to play the next day against non-league opponent Port Jervis. Port would come into the game with an 8-5 record compared to Paupack’s 5-9. However, the records would not tell the story of the game as the Buckhorns started fast and never looked back. After a dominate performance, Paupack came out on top 55-39 with both Nick VanBuskirk and JP Yeo leading the scoring with sixteen points each. This was a huge win for the Bucks as it propelled them to the three seed in the 5A playoff bracket, but to hold this spot they have to stay on the right track.
Unfortunately, after the snowstorm, the Buckhorns’ Pink Out game against West Scranton was postponed to a further date. So, the boys’ next game will be tonight at home, at 6:45, against league opponent Valley View.
