BMS boys start 2013 with a pair of wins

By Jim Muir

The Benton Middle School eighth grade team got the 2013 portion of its schedule off to an excellent start with a 61-29 victory over Christopher.

The Junior Rangers showed no ill effects following a three week layoff through the Christmas holiday racing out to a 16-8 first quarter lead en route to a 32-11 halftime score.

BMS 8th grade coach John Cook said he was pleased with his teams’ performance after the 21-day holiday break.

“Going in I expected there to be a little rust and fatigue,” said Cook. “I saw some fatigue but not much rust. I thought we did an exceptional job on the defensive end holding Christopher to only three field goals in the first half. Our guards played tight on their three-point shooters and our big men did a great job of hedging and communicating on ball screens.

Cook pointed out that Christopher began the game in a triangle-and-two defense guarding Benton’s leading scorers Derek Oxford and Austin Wills man-to-man to slow their offensive output.

“I thought Tyson Houghland and Gehrig Wynn stepped up for us, combining for 17 first half points, and forced Christopher to go back to their base 2-3 zone defense in the second half,” said Cook. “I expect more teams to start playing gimmicks against us in the second half of the season but I also expect us to show teams that we aren’t a one or two-dimensional team. We have a lot of depth.”

The 8th grade team was paced in scoring by Oxford who scored 21 points and also led the team in rebounding with nine. Houghland also turned in a solid outing hitting double figures with 12 points. Rounding out the Benton scoring was Jordan Richey with six points, Austin Wills, Oliver Davis and Gehrig Wynn with five points each, Blane Pankey with three points, Scott Mosely and Troy Tillman with two each. Also seeing action in the 8th grade game was Hamilton Page, Jourdan Garbo, Parker Williams and Brett Bonenberger.

BMS was also victorious in the 7th grade game notching a 47-22 victory over the Bearcats. Benton jumped out to a 13-4 first quarter score and then outscored Christopher 15-5 in the second frame to take a 28-9 halftime lead. Benton upped the advantage to 37-12 after three quarter and coasted to the victory. Benton’s 7th grade team is now 9-2 overall with the win.

Brett Bonenberger led the way for coach Andy Davis’ team with 14 points followed closely by Blane Pankey who added 12. Also scoring for Benton was Drew Owens with six points, Triston Summers and Mason Wills with 4 each, Parker Williams with three, Hamilton Page and Parker McGuire with two each. Also seeing action in the 7th grade contest was Gehrig Wynn, Eldon Owens, Joey Craig, Robbie Moore, Braxton Lutz, Ethan Kreiger, Branden Luster, Peyton Mosely, Logan Darr and Jordan Bowlin.

Both BMS teams are back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 8 when they host Harrisburg. The 7th grade game begins at 5:30 p.m. with the varsity game following.