Riverview, Fla. — The Villages High School boys basketball team fell victim to a lackluster third quarter Wednesday night, leading to an 81-66 road loss to Bell Creek in Riverview.

The Buffalo (6-9 overall) were outscored 28-13 in the penultimate period, resulting in a 15-point defeat to the Panthers (8-6), whom VHS beat 79-30 back on Dec. 7 in Middleton. 

After the first half featured five ties and four lead changes, it appeared the rematch was in for a much closer finish than the matchup nearly a month ago. 

But Bell Creek stormed out of the halftime locker room on a 7-0 run over the opening 1:33 of the third quarter, extending a 33-32 lead at the break into a 40-32 advantage.

A dunk by Bell Creek's Jermal Jones Jr. with 4:40 left in the third period extended the gap to 47-36, forcing a Buffalo timeout as the lead swelled to its largest at that point. Things wouldn't get any better from there for VHS, however, as The Villages proceeded to come up empty on five consecutive trips down the floor following the stoppage. 

VHS trailed 61-45 at the end of the third, but showed signs of life early in the fourth quarter by cutting the deficit to nine points on three occasions early in the fourth quarter. But each time the host Panthers responded, pushing their lead back to double digits as they eventually increased their lead by as much as 18 down the stretch. 

Jared Thompson led the Buffalo in scoring with 17 points, while Adyn Corbin added 13 and Aaron Britt, Jr. finished with 12.

The Villages will look to bounce back at 7:30 p.m. Friday night, when it hosts IMG Academy (White) in Middleton. 


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