Middleton, Fla. — The Villages High School boys basketball team put together one of its most efficient offensive performances in recent memory Saturday night in Middleton.
The Buffalo made a total of 17 three-pointers — establishing a new single-game program record — and assisted on 27 of 33 made shots, as they cruised to a 92-68 victory over Westminster Academy in the Iverson Classic Blackout Signature Series.
After suffering a home loss for the first time in nearly a full calendar year just the night before, The Villages (17-5 overall) roared back into the win column behind Jared Thompson's career-high 29 points before an enthusiastic crowd inside the VHS Gymnasium.
"Being selfless is what we really focused on tonight," said Thompson, who made nine 3-pointers. "We need to continue focusing on that for the rest of the season. That's what will continue to help us win — and we need that. We need that team chemistry and that bond on the floor to keep moving forward."
The 17 made three-pointers broke the program's previous single-game high of 16 (done twice) and the 27 assists were also the most VHS has recorded in three seasons. Additionally, Thompson's nine 3-pointers are the second-most in a game in Buffalo history — trailing only Lane Munz (10) in 2012 — and his eight 3-pointers made in Saturday's second half are believed to be a program record for most in a single half.
"It's everything we preach about playing offensive basketball here at The Villages," said 10th-year VHS head coach Colt McDowell. "Obviously the (number of) makes jump out at you, but we shot the right amount of the kind of shots we want tonight. You look at the number of assists, we shared the basketball well, and we did what we've shown we're capable of doing everyday in practice."
Despite being without the services of nationally ranked Alex Constanza due to injury, Westminster (10-8) was more than game to bring it to the Buffalo early.
VHS needed seven made 3-pointers in the first half simply to keep pace with University of Florida signee Alex Lloyd and sharpshooting guard Dwight Gaines Jr., who each had 12 points in the first half. The two teams ultimately went into halftime all even at 35-35 on the scoreboard.
The Buffalo had seen their struggles in third quarters throughout this season but not on Saturday night, when they surged out of the locker room on a 12-0 run to open the second half. Adyn Corbin hit two of his six made 3-pointers during that stretch en route to 22 points and 12 assists on the night.
"The crazy thing about the way we played on offense tonight, we know we can do that," Corbin said. "Us playing that way and scoring that way, we're practicing like that and working hard every single day for it. Really, it just comes down to us going out there and seeing our teammates have fun and playing for reach other."
Gaines hit four 3-pointers for the visitors from Fort Lauderdale to keep the Lions within striking distance at 59-52 entering the fourth quarter, but that's when the lights shined brightest for Thompson.
The junior guard splashed 3-pointers on five of the first six possessions of the final period for VHS, helping extend the Buffalo lead from seven to 76-59 with just over four minutes remaining. Thompson added another 3-pointer later in the quarter to finish with six over the final eight minutes of play.
"I feel like every time I hit one or two, I'm a pure shooter, that just gives me more confidence to keep shooting," Thompson said. "I've been (shooting) my whole life, so, I'm kind of used to it by now."
The offensive explosion in a fourth quarter in which VHS outscored Westminster, 33-16, was capped by a thunderous dunk from
Ethan Bevis over top Westminster's Josh Williams with 2:30 left. That brought the Buffalo crowd to its feet and sent VHS toward its 17th victory this season.
Thompson's 29 points led all scorers and Corbin finished with 22, while
Aaron Britt, Jr. added 13 for VHS and
Herly Brutus tallied 11. Lloyd and Gaines each finished with 25 points for Westminster.
The win was highlighted by offense but it didn't come without some defense, as the Buffalo outrebounded the Lions (30-19) and held Westminster to just 45.8% shooting from the floor (22-of-48).
VHS will now look ahead to three games upcoming in the final week of the regular season, beginning with a 7:30 p.m. tip Wednesday night on the road at Lake Minneola.
"The big thing tonight was playing for one another," McDowell said. "It was about talking when they weren't and having them, honestly, figure it out on their own. I've learned as a head coach that this time of year, your players have to fix a lot of what's wrong and our guys know what to do. They proved that tonight and I'm proud of them."
Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment via email at cody.hills@tvcs.org.
