(New Buffalo, MI) - The New Buffalo High School boys’ basketball team stormed back after halftime to defeat Countryside Academy 55-49 at home on Wednesday.

 

The Bison, leading by six points after the first quarter, were outscored by 17 points in the second quarter.

 

The Cougars came alive behind the dazzling play of Isiah Woods, who sank shots from seemingly everywhere on the court.

 

The Bison seemed rattled by the much higher level of play suddenly provided by the Cougars, who topped it off with a thunderous slam dunk from Dante Tate. After stealing a pass at half-court, there was nothing between Tate and the rim when he dribbled into the paint and went airborne.

           

The crowd roared when he threw the ball hard into the net with one hand.

 

The second half, though, was a much different story for the Bison players, who regained their composure and relied on finding open shooters for easy buckets close to the rim with nifty passes.

 

The Cougars opened up the third quarter by extending their lead to 19 points.  However, a three-point bucket from sophomore Sam Tripp seemed to trigger the Bison comeback.

           

The Bison pulled to within 11 points when sophomore Lucas Forker laid the ball into the rim after catching a pass from senior Elliott Bourne.  The lead was cut to seven points when Bourne with the ball found sophomore M’Nason Smothers, who caught the pass and sank a five-foot turn-around jump shot.

 

Another three-point shot from Tripp pulled the Bison to within two points at the end of the third quarter.

 

The Bison took the lead for good early in the fourth quarter when Bourne sank a three-point shot from the baseline and then drove in for a lay-up.

 

Forker led the Bison attack with 16 points while Bourne scored 14 points.

       

New Buffalo Head Coach Nate Tripp said one of the keys in the comeback was bringing the zone defense closer to the rim after halftime.  That stopped the Cougars from driving into the paint for easy shots and forced them to shoot more from the outside.

 

Tripp also said his players also stayed calm and were very sharp with their passing.

 

“The guys did phenomenal. They know how to look for each other. They got chemistry,” he said.

               

Tripp said having to take point guard Nick Haskins out of the game for an extended period due to early foul trouble was the main reason for the problems in the second quarter because that forced some players out of their regular positions.