Middleton, Fla. — The Villages High School boys basketball team earned itself a much-needed win Thursday night at VHS.

The Buffalo bounced back from a lackluster performance their last time out with a 58-45 victory over Buchholz (Gainesville) in Middleton, shaking off a disappointing trip to Orlando on Tuesday night that resulted in a 26-point road loss at Olympia.

In its rebound effort, The Villages (5-6 overall) used a pair of first-half runs to establish some breathing room against one of Gainesville's top teams, before holding off a late surge by the Bobcats (5-2) to remain unbeaten in three contests at home thus far this season.

"I'm really proud of our guys because going back to Tuesday at Olympia, it was tough on everyone involved," said VHS head coach Colt McDowell. "Our guys went out tonight and did whatever was called upon them — finding their roles and executing them — and that was great to see. It felt like everyone on the floor cared about The Villages and playing as a team."

After the Buffalo fell behind 17-0 to Olympia in a 68-42 loss on Tuesday, VHS controlled the first quarter of play on Thursday thanks to an early run. The Buffalo briefly fell behind 8-4, but a 10-0 spurt — the first eight points of which came in less than 90 seconds — helped eventually push VHS out to a 15-13 lead through the opening period. 

The Villages tightened things up defensively in the second quarter, limiting Buchholz to just six points in the period and only two made shots from the floor. The Buffalo also used another 7-0 run to create even more space on the scoreboard.

VHS enjoyed a 33-19 advantage at the half, shooting 55% from the field compared to just 36% by the visiting Bobcats. 

"We really executed our defensive gameplan tonight, especially in the first half," McDowell said. "Our rotations were really good and that's because the guys knew what we were doing, they played hard and they played unselfishly."

The Buffalo extended their lead to 46-31 by the end of the third quarter, despite hitting just 10-of-23 free throws to that point.

Those struggles at the line seemingly allowed Buchholz to creep back into the contest, as the Bobcats twice shrunk the gap to single digits with less than four minutes to play.

But each time VHS responded, including an impressive individual effort by Jared Thompson in which he recorded a block at one end and sank a 3-pointer at the other, to carry the Buffalo to victory.

"We just had to do the little things right," Thompson said after the win. "That's on defense, getting your teammates involved, taking the right shots and communicating throughout the game."

Chris Washington Jr. paced VHS with 19 points and Thompson finished with 14, as the Buffalo now look ahead to the 10th annual Battle at The Villages. The three-day, eight-team tournament tips off Dec. 28, with VHS hosting Norland (Miami) in the Day 1 nightcap at 7 p.m.

"I told the guys, 'It's got to continue to be about us,'" McDowell said. "We've got to continue to get better and focus on the big picture, but I also told them that we're 3-0 in this building in 2023 — and I'd like to finish the year off being 6-0 in here, too."


Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment at cody.hills@tvcs.org or by calling (352) 259-6890.