toledoblade.com --

COLUMBUS - The accolades for William Buford are considerable, as well as impressive.

The latest - becoming only the second City League player to be named Ohio's Mr. Basketball - places him in select company. He joins Macomber's Jim Jackson.

But individual recognition is not the motivation behind playing basketball for Libbey's do-it-all senior swingman. He is in Columbus with his teammates for one purpose - to win a state championship.

"Hopefully next game I will play better and we'll make it an easier win," Buford said shortly after the Cowboys fought off St. Paris Graham for a 51-44 victory in a Division II state semifinal yesterday at Value City Arena.

Libbey will look to win its first state championship on Saturday morning when it meets Chillicothe, which stopped Poland Seminary 78-70 in the other Division II semifinal.

Despite the victory over the previously unbeaten Falcons, Buford and the rest of the Cowboys (24-2) were not quite like themselves against Graham (26-1).

Buford poured in a game-high 21 points and yanked down a game-high 10 rebounds on the court he'll call homecourt next fall when he becomes a student-athlete at Ohio State University. But the announced crowd of 12,776 didn't witness the Buford deserving of all the honors and praise. He, as did his teammates, struggled to find their rhythm against the Falcons.

Buford attempted nearly half of the Cowboys' 51 shots, sinking only 9 of 24 attempts. At one stretch after halftime he misfired on seven straight shots on his way to a 3-for-12 shooting experience during the second half.

Could the announcement of him being named Ohio's Mr. Basketball less than 24 hours earlier place a little more weight and attention than asked for on the 6-foot-5 senior's chiseled shoulders?

"My teammates were telling me to shoot and they were getting me the basketball, so I really wasn't feeling any pressure," said Buford, who, along with Lance Jones, played the entire 32 minutes.

Libbey coach Leroy Bates said the team did not do anything special when they found out Buford was named Mr. Basketball on Wednesday. They didn't schedule a celebration. They attempted to keep their daily routine as normal as possible while preparing to face Graham.

However, Bates thinks the news of Buford's latest honor could have been a factor in the Cowboys' star not looking like himself. Normally calm, he seemed to be pressing a little to get his shots off.

"That probably had something to do with it," Bates said. "He is only an 18-year-old and he wanted to show what he can do. [But] in a game like this everyone has to do their part.

"In the second half, Brad [Sandridge], Brandon [Ham], Bradley [Burton] and Lance [Jones] came through and did their parts."

Bates said he does not rule out the possibility the Cowboys' overall performance against the Falcons may have been affected by the news of their top player being recognized as the top player in the state. As a group, they may have been pressing far more than usual to get Buford involved in the flow of the game.

"They all love each other and they wanted him [Buford] to be successful," Bates said. "They went out there to be successful as a team. They don't want us to go home."

The Cowboys seemed to be a step slow and off their normal game pace. It may have had to do with it being the first time this season they played with a listed starting time of 10:45 and an actual tip-off of nearly 11.

"I wouldn't blame that as an excuse, but probably so," Buford said.

Despite not playing up to Big Buford status, the best player in the state still did plenty to put an end to the Falcons' once-perfect season.

"For the most part, we made him [Buford] work for his shots," Graham coach Brook Cupps said. "We did a decent job against him. Buford is by far the best perimeter player we've seen. He can play on the wing. He can play in the post. He's a tough matchup."

No matter the place or time.

Contact Donald Emmons at: demons@theblade.com or 419-724-6302.

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