[OSUBasketballJunkie]

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12/03/05

Libbey 78, Sandusky 45

Libbey's William Buford scored 15 of his 20 points in the second quarter and grabbed seven rebounds for the game.

The Cowboys outscored Sandusky 26-9 in the second quarter after the first ended in a 13-13 deadlock.

Brad Sandridge added 14 points and Julius Wells had 10 for the Cowboys. Kelsey Williams led Sandusky with 21 points.

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12/10/05

Libbey 89, Whitmer 47

William Buford led Libbey with 21 points in three quarters of action.

P.J. Pearson added 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Cowboys (2-0, 1-0), and Byron Johnson had 13 points.
Beau Norton paced Whitmer with 15 and Ryan Smith added 12

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12/11/05

ST. VINCENT-ST. MARY'S 80, LIBBEY 63

AKRON - Marcus Johnson led St. Vincent-St. Mary with 15 points,.
William Buford paced Libbey with 27 points. P.J. Pearson added 15 points and 19 rebounds.

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12/17/05

Knights pull away
St. Francis performs in clutch at Libbey

By STEVE JUNGA
BLADE SPORTS WRITER


Libbey's youthful and rebuilt lineup went stride for stride for three quarters with a more experienced St. Francis de Sales team last night. But the visiting Knights had a better kick down the stretch in a 62-51 City League basketball victory.



St. Francis (4-0, 2-0 CL), tied with the Cowboys 37-37 after three quarters, then used a 25-14 final period to stay unbeaten.

"The game was played the way Libbey wanted it to be played," Knights coach Nick Lowe said of the tempo. "They wanted an up-and-down, physical game, and that's what it was. But our kids answered. They decided to quit worrying about things, and to play strong and aggressive and let everything take care of itself.

"I think we really grew tonight as a team. We were put in a situation that we hadn't been in yet this season [close late], and they rose to the occasion."

Libbey (2-2, 1-1), which enjoyed its last lead at 37-35 late in the third quarter, let things slip away thereafter as St. Francis used a 9-0 run to take control.

Senior guard Darryl Roberts, the CL's leading scorer last season, paced the Knights with 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field and 7-of-9 from the line.
Roberts capped his team's crucial 9-0 run with a three-point play for a 44-37 edge

2:32 into the fourth quarter, and Libbey got no closer than three.

Steve Vaculik, the Knights' 6-6 junior forward, contributed 11 points and nine rebounds, and senior L.B. McNeal grabbed 11 boards.

"Things got a little hectic there and we had to stay together as a team," Roberts said. "We knew they were going to be all over us [defensively]. That's just the kind of team Libbey is. So we needed to stay strong as a team, and we did.

"We took care of the ball [in the fourth quarter] and we attacked the rim. We knew if we attacked their press we could get some easy baskets, and we needed to rebound. We did those things in the fourth quarter."

As pivotal as Roberts' scoring and creating were in this game to the Knights, their defense on Libbey sophomore standout William Buford was equally important.
St. Francis held the 6-5 Buford to 13 points on 4-of-13 shooting, with eight of those points coming in the final 4:10. Buford was the only Cowboy in double figures.

"We know William Buford is a premier player in this league, even as a sophomore," Lowe said. "So, our concentration tonight was to stop him. If they were going to beat us, we wanted someone else to beat us."

On the stat sheet, Cowboy coach Leroy Bates needed to look no further than his team's field-goal shooting, particularly from prime territory and especially after halftime.

"In the second half we missed too many easy shots in the paint," Bates said. "With a young team, they didn't seem to see the urgency in hitting the shots you're supposed to hit. We were right there. All the shots we needed were there. All we had to do was make 'em.

"We missed 19 shots in the paint in the game. That tells you these guys still need to mature."

After a respectable 12-of-26 effort from the field in the first half, Libbey led 27-23. But the Cowboys, who start two sophomores and two juniors, were a dismal 6-of-28 after the break.

Contact Steve Junga at:
sjunga@theblade.com
or 419-724-6461.