Article published January 22, 2008
Cowboys fall short: Michigan No. 2 tops Ohio No. 1
William Buford scored 34 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, but Libbey lost to Saginaw yesterday afternoon at Owens. (BLADE PHOTOS/LORI KING)
 VIEW: Saginaw-Libbey boys basketball (WMV)
VIEW: Saginaw-Libbey boys basketball (Real)
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By STEVE JUNGA
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
With 34 points and 17 rebounds in yesterday's basketball matchup against defending Michigan big-school state champion Saginaw, there was little more that Libbey's William Buford could have done.
But a little more is all the 6-foot-5 Ohio State-bound star wanted after his Cowboys absorbed a tough 80-76 loss to the Trojans before a crowd of 2,000 at the Student Health and Activities Center at Owens College.
The game, which featured two of the top teams from their respective states - Saginaw (12-1) is ranked No. 2 in Michigan Class A, and Libbey (12-2) is No. 1 in Ohio in Division II - was part of the 12th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Classic.
The Cowboys trailed 77-74 with 16.6 seconds remaining when Buford was fouled on a 3-point attempt by Saginaw's 6-7, Michigan State-bound star, Draymond Green.
Buford made the first two free throws but missed the third, and Libbey was forced to foul Trojan guard Daniel West with 12.4 left.
After West (24 points, six rebounds) made two at the line, Libbey set up Buford for another potential game-tying 3-pointer. The shot rimmed out, and Saginaw held on."They just wanted it more than us, and we came out with a loss," Buford said. "They're a very good team. They did what they needed to do, but I feel we should've won. Sometimes it's just like that. That's part of basketball.
Libbey's Lance Jones shoots over Saginaw's Courtney Washington. Jones scored nine points.
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"I'm going to go back to the gym and keep working on my shot so that, next time, I won't miss those."
Green (14 points, 13 boards), West and guard Mike Green (12 points) are returning starters from a 25-1 team that hammered Detroit Redford 79-57 in the 2007 Class A state final.
"We just had heart," Draymond Green said. "Coach always tells us, as long as we've got the heart, we'll come out with the victory. We played through everything, and it worked out for us in the end.
"[Buford] played a great game. He shot the ball well, got to the rack, dribbled it, shot free throws. He played an excellent game. But I played against him all summer, so it's nothing new seeing what he can do. It's going to be fun going at it with him when we're at Ohio State and Michigan State."
Saginaw's loss this season came against league rival Saginaw Arthur Hill, which won the 2006 Class A state title, and beat Libbey in the MLK Classic here last year.
The Cowboys got 11 points from Tony Brown, 9 from Lance Jones, and 8 from Brad Sandridge.
"This was our third game in four days," Libbey coach Leroy Bates said. "I won't say that had a lot of effect, but it had a little effect. But Saginaw did a great job."
Libbey beat Clay at Savage Hall 73-33 on Friday, won 78-43 at Canton McKinley on Saturday.
"I think they had more scoring threats than us," Bates said, "and that kind of spread our defense out a little more than what we wanted. Then they had the big inside presence with [Draymond Green], and he could shoot it a little from mid-range.
"We'll live and learn from this. We're almost where we need to be, but we still need to keep improving."
Saginaw trailed 18-12 after one quarter, and rallied to take a 38-36 halftime lead. The Trojans opened the third quarter with an 11-4 run, and were ahead 51-42 after Mike Green's bucket with
3:43 left in the third. Libbey closed the period with a 17-7 surge that included eight points from Buford.
The Cowboys' last lead came at 71-70 on a Buford putback with 2:48 left.
"It was a hard-fought game from both teams," Saginaw coach Lou Hawkins said. "I love games like this. It brings out the best from both teams' players and both coaching staffs."
The Trojans survived despite having half as many attempts at the line as Libbey. The Cowboys were 22-of-32 at the stripe, Saginaw 13-of-16.
In an otherwise evenly played contest, Saginaw was 30-of-68 (44 percent) from the field, including 7-of-18 on 3-pointers, matched Libbey with 40 rebounds, and forced 20 turnovers while committing 16. The Cowboys were 25-of-58 from the field (43 percent).
Contact Steve Junga at: sjunga@theblade.com or 419-724-6461.
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