Perennial boys’ basketball powerhouse New Mission High School of Boston opened the fourth quarter with a 15-0 run to spoil a gritty effort by the Bedford High School Buccaneers, 63-52, in the season opener at the BHS gymnasium on Tuesday night.
For 24 minutes, the Bucs led almost the entire game, thwarting the Titans’ attack and building up an advantage from the line. A quick 6-0 run to open the second half gave New Mission a one-point lead, but then Bedford regained control, and at the end of the third quarter relished a 45-37 advantage.
A minute and a half into the fourth quarter, New Mission led 47-45 and the Titans never looked back. The Bucs didn’t score until more than midway through the period.
Offensively, junior Justice Buchannan carried the team with 25 points, including 10 of Bedford’s 17 baskets. He was sensational for three periods, missing only two of 12 attempts. Playing with three fouls, Buchannan scored eight in the third quarter. But he was on the floor most of the game and missed his last seven field-goal attempts.
Meanwhile, New Mission’s Joseph Jackson led all scorers with 28, including three consecutive three-point baskets to spark the fourth-quarter surge. Still, Bedford clawed back to within three, 54-51, before New Mission was awarded four from the line plus possession after personal and technical foul calls.
Jackson had a lot of help from junior Daniel Pierre, who scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebound – seven on the offensive boards.
The other Buccaneer in double figures was junior Jireh Joseph with 12 points, eight of them from the foul line. Camdyn Shoesmith added eight points and led the Bucs with seven boards. Bedford was plagued with 24 turnovers – 10 more than the visitors.
Bedford opens the Dual County League campaign on Friday at Wayland.
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