Bucks move to 29-0 with gutsy win over All-Stars

Few if any fans who were in The Dungeon at West Holmes High School Tuesday, March 10 expected any different outcome than what took place in the battle between the Holmes County Bucks and the Holmes County All-Stars, but hey, a fan of the All-Stars can hope, can’t they?

Hope as they might, this basketball contest turned out exactly like the 28 games before it, with the Bucks running their win streak to 29 with a 61-50 victory.

The Bucks burst out of the gate on a 10-0 run led by legendary center Dennis Hershberger and Hope Snyder.

All-Stars forward Michael DeWitt finally got the All-Stars on track with five quick points and eventually got his team back in the game, trailing 14-9. However, a Blake Day 3-pointer right before the first quarter buzzer pushed the Bucks back up by eight.

Kennady Miller flashed the shooting prowess she displayed as a Lady Knight not long ago, draining a trey to carve into the All-Stars deficit, but Bucks guard Shawn Garnes flashed into the paint for a quick two, extending the Bucks’ lead to 26-17.

DeWitt again tried to keep the All-Stars within striking distance, but when Anson Miller knocked down a long 3-pointer for the Bucks, his team found itself leading 31-19.

That forced All-Stars head coach Ty Meyer to call a quick time-out to try to gather the troops and instill some confidence, but as has been the case in years past, it did little good.

Michael Harwood scored in the paint for the Bucks, and the All-Stars did manage to score a couple buckets late in the half to trim the deficit to just 33-25 at the intermission.

Some defensive gems from Levi Hershberger and a score from Julian Mast helped push the Bucks lead back to 12 at 44-32 in what proved to be a low-scoring third quarter.

With the All-Stars already facing an uphill battle, Dennis Hershberger, Ida Bowman and Andrew Moorhead helped make that climb even steeper, pushing the Bucks lead out to 50-40 with time becoming a factor.

That was when All-Star Tim Meyer stepped up with a couple of quick scores to make it 50-44, but that was as close as the All-Stars could get. Harwood became a big factor, hitting twice inside the paint, returning the Bucks’ lead back to 10 with time dwindling down.

Big Jon Miller would add a late bucket, and Moorhead’s free throw would cap off the scoring and secure a 29th straight Bucks' victory.

“This game has become such a big part of our season and such a huge deal for the Bucks and for the All-Stars because of what it means to them and to the community,” said Sharon Allison, Holmes County Board of DD community supports director. “We are so appreciative of the way this community has continued to support this game and especially the Bucks.”

With last year marking the 50th anniversary of the Special Olympics, this year denotes the 50th anniversary of the Bucks existence as a team, and for 29 of those seasons the Bucks have squared off with the All-Stars to end their season in style.

Tim Meyer has played for half a decade versus the Bucks and summed up his teammates' thoughts on participating in this friendly battle on the hardwood.

“It’s just a lot of fun,” said Meyer, who gladly took on some good-natured ribbing from celebrity referee Tom Vaughn during the game. “It’s for such a great cause, and one of the fun things is that some of these Bucks like to talk a little trash, so we like to give it back to them. But it is neat to see the community support the Bucks like this, hearing the whole crowd cheer and provide energy when the Bucks make a shot.”

Perhaps tackling the Bucks in year 30 might provide an avenue to end the losing streak for the All-Stars, but the smart money will always stay on the Bucks.