By Brad Hallier
TOWANDA, Kan. – The Buhler boys played one of their best halves of the season Friday against Circle, playing even with the fourth-ranked team in Class 4A through halftime.
Circle, however, began turning over the Crusaders and a 22-9 run led Circle to a 59-49 win.
That Thunderbird lead swelled to 17 points in the fourth quarter before Buhler steadied.
Early, Buhler erased a seven-point deficit in helping draw level at half.
Jeffrey Neill had a career-high 14 points, while Matthew Eddy had 10 for Buhler. Trever Cowman led Circle with 22 points.
Circle girls 38, Buhler 37 –Â Buhler led for most of the game, but a Kya Thompson layup with under 20 seconds left gave the Thunderbirds the win.
Buhler led by one at halftime, and a solid opening to the fourth quarter, capped by a Makenna Siemens basket, gave Buhler a six-point lead. But Buhler started to turn the ball over, and Circle went on a 10-2 run. Thornton led the way with 14 points, while Emmie Stallman had a career-high 12 points for Buhler.
