Buhler boys' big second quarter derails Salina South upset bid in Salina Invitational opener

Salina South's boys charged into the Salina Invitational Tournament on a roll, eager to prove that they were no ordinary No. 8 seed.

Then Buhler landed one big punch that sent them straight into the consolation bracket.

Top-seeded Buhler weathered an early South surge, still trailing by a point midway through the second quarter when they unleashed a 14-point barrage to end the half and also the Cougars' upset bid on the way to a 60-38 first-round victory Thursday at the South gym.

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With South starters Te'Jon McDaniel and Quevon Purucker on the bench in foul trouble, Grant Ricker hit a pull-up jumper that put Buhler in front for good, 20-19. He followed it up with a corner 3-pointer and a steal for a layup and the Crusaders were off to the races.

"The end of the second quarter was where we lost it," South coach Jason Hooper said. "We were up one when it happened.

"You've got to give Buhler credit. They took advantage of the situation and we never got back in it."

Purucker picked up two quick fouls, but it was when McDaniel — South's leading scorer — was whistled for his second just over a minute into the second period that things began to unravel for the Cougars. Wade Meyer matched Ricker's seven-point scoring run with one of his own, turning a steal into a fast-break layup with 10 seconds left to put the Crusaders up 32-19 at halftime.

"That was a game-changer," Buhler coach Ryan Swanson said of the Crusaders' second-quarter run. "We hadn't played for a week and a half, and it showed.

"Obviously the biggest turning point was when Te'Jon got his second foul. He's such a tough matchup with his skill, size and athleticism."

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Buhler forward Jack Voth, who drew the foul and hit a free throw to tie the game at 14, then gave Buhler its first lead on the next possession, agreed.

"It was huge because it helped us spread the floor. He's a great player," Voth said of McDaniel, whose seven first-quarter points helped South to an early lead. "It helped us match up, too, because when they had all three of their big dudes in there, they had a size advantage."

Voth finished with 20 points and eight rebounds to lead Buhler, which improved to 8-0 heading into Friday's 4:30 p.m. semifinal matchup against Wichita South at Mabee Arena. Meyer added 17 points and five rebounds off the bench and Ricker had 12 points.

South had a chance to pull away in the opening quarter, going up 14-8 on a basket by McDaniel and an Andrew Kaiser layup. But Voth knocked down a long 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the lead in half.

"We got off to a great start," Hooper said. "That was a huge shot at the end of the first quarter (by Voth) because we had a chance there to get some separation."

South scored the first six points of the second half on baskets by big men McDaniel, Zach Davidson and Edgar Garcia, cutting the deficit to seven, but Buhler answered with an 8-0 run sparked by Voth, and the Crusaders never looked back.

For South, which came into the tournament on a three-game winning streak, McDaniel finished with 14 points and seven rebounds while Garcia had 10 points.

"I told our guys after the game that we've got to put this one behind us," said Hooper, whose Cougars fell to 4-6 after entering the tournament on a three-game winning streak. "We've got to bounce back and let this one go."

The Cougars on Concordia at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a consolation semifinal at the South gym.

Wichita South beat Concordia, 59-43, Thursday in the early first-round game at South. The Titans were led by freshman Aven Mboule with 14 points and Jalen Manning with 13. Cav Carlgren had 17 points for Concordia.

This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Salina South boys fall to Buhler in Salina Invitational opener