Abby boys sink ‘Bucs

The buck stops here, or in this case the Buccaneers. The Abbotsford Falcons boys basketball team got their first conference win of the season after they outlasted the Prentice Buccaneers on Friday.

The Falcons improved to 2-4 on the year with a narrow 64-61 decision over their conference rivals, in a game that was keyed by some eye-popping offensive performances from Adam and Brandon Diedrich and Esteban Gomez.

All three players finished in double digits, and each point was absolutely vital in a game decided by one possession. The Falcons had to battle from behind to secure their first conference victory, trailing 33-30 heading into halftime.

Prentice continued to score in the second half, but the Falcons did just enough on both sides of the ball to slowly grind down the Buccanners resistance.

The threes refused to fall for the Falcons, who made just two of 14 attempts, so Abby went inside for their baskets, and shot nearly 50 percent from the floor, converting 26 of 58 field goal attempts.

Adam Diedrich led the comeback, scoring a season high 22 points, shooting nine of 14 from the floor and four of seven from the charity stripe. He got it done on the other end too, pulling down a team high ten boards for a double-double.

Brandon Diedrich was equally impressive, hanging 18 points on Prentice. Esteban Gomez had 12 points on five of 10 shooting, and the Falcons rallied to outscore the ‘Bucs 34-28 in the final frame.

Brandon Hawkey had five points and nine rebounds in the victory. Evan Reis addedfourpointsandfiveboards.Preston Bunkelman chipped in with three points. JV Castillo had no points, but dished out a team high six assists, grabbed five rebounds and had two steals.