West's Bufford has big night
Originally published November 30, 2011 at 2:27 a.m., updated November 30, 2011 at 2:27 a.m.
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CommentBOYS BASKETBALL :: VICTORIA WEST 55, GONZALES 28
Victoria West coach Pat Erskine predicted Nic Bufford would make an impact before his team even played a game last season.
"Making the split between East and West we thought Nic was going to be the surprise," Erskine said. "We knew that Nic was going to eventually evolve into a role player and he plays a role pretty good. He's a good rebounder and he took some shots that were really good."
Bufford made a career-high five 3-pointers to lead the Warriors to a 55-28 win over Gonzales in their home opener on Tuesday night.
Bufford spent much of the summer and fall in the gym working on his shot and it paid off as he scored a team-high 17 points.
"That's all I practiced on," Bufford "Wherever I could. I went anywhere and everywhere. Wherever I could shoot, I did."
Bufford made four 3-pointers in the third quarter to spark an 11-0 run that allowed the Warriors to take control of the game.
"He had a poor shooting game the other night," Erskine said. "I just told him keep shooting the ball."
Drew Erskine added 16 points for West, which took the lead at 6-4 and never relinquished it.
Pat Erskine made good use of his bench, as 11 players got in the game and nine scored.
"I feel like we're better on the bench than we were last year," Pat Erskine said. "I think the experience has helped us. I really do. I feel like size and our big guys are starting to play."
Gonzales dropped to 0-4, but Pat Erskine has no doubt the Apaches will improve.
"Coming into the game you have to realize with the difference in classification 4 and 3 you don't know what you're going to get," he said. "I've coached at Gonzales and I know in about three weeks they'll be a different team. I know they'll be competitive and they're doing the right thing by playing better teams."
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