Glen Lake’s size and speed proved too much for the Buckley Bears for the third time this season – as the Lakers won 76-53 in a regional semifinal on Tuesday.
Everything went the Lakers way (21-4), thanks to a dominant defense and powerful offensive performance against the Bears (15-10).
Glen Lake sophomore Jacob Plamondon dominated with 26 points, 10 rebounds; junior Benji Allen had 12 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assist; senior Cooper Bufilini contributed 10 points; senior Dylan Cundiff 6 points, 5 assists; senior Gage Baker 3 points; junior Michael Houtteman 12 points; senior Tyler Bixby 4 points, 5 rebounds; Jamie Blondia had 3 points.
Buckley remained in striking distance for most of the first half, but ran out of gas quickly as Glen Lake had its way inside the paint and behind the 3-point line in the second half. Glen Lake found its rhythm with eight 3-pointers, compared to making only two 3-pointers against Frankfort in the district final.
“The biggest thing the boys did was push the ball,” Laker Coach Jason Bradford said.
Glen Lake has now won 12 of their last 13 games and will have a date on the road against the Bellaire Eagles on Thursday, March 7 at 7 p.m.
Bellaire is hosting the regional tournament.
Bellaire defeated Hillman Tigers 76-60 in a regional semifinal on Tuesday. The Eagles were up as many as 27 points against Hillman, before the Tigers switched from zone to man-to-man defense and ended up losing by 16 points. Glen Lake has been focused on playing man-to-man defense and not falling back in a zone. The size and speed of both teams will be on display Thursday night in what should be an intense Division 4 regional final game.
