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 – 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.
