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Basketball: Cockfield's career night leads JHS past Wolves; Buford girls win big <b> (VIDEO) </b>

By Jeff Hart Sports Reporter
BUFORD -- With the height and length of Buford, Johnson coach Jeff Steele thought briefly about changing things up defensively to find some better matchups for his smaller group of Knights.<br /> <br /> Then he came to his senses.<br /> <br /> Johnson produced two big runs and weathered two by Buford to pull off a 100-89 win on the road in a key Region 8-AAAA game for both teams Tuesday night at the Buford gym.<br /> <br /> "I decided to just do what we do and what had gotten us to 15-0," Steele said. "We went man-to-man most of the time. I'm not real happy about giving up that many points but they give you some tough matchups. I was proud of how we competed in a tough environment."<br /> <br /> The Class AAAA No. 2 Knights (16-0, 2-0 Region 8-AAAA) never trailed after using an 18-4 run in the first and second quarters to erase a 21-19 Buford lead. The Knights used a 19-11 run to open the third quarter for a 61-40 lead and then held off the Wolves (7-8, 1-1) down the stretch.<br /> <br /> Ty Cockfield provided the spark every time the Knights needed one and led by example pouring in a career-high 42 points to go with 10 assists, seven rebounds, and five steals.<br /> <br /> During Johnson's 16-6 run to end the first half, six different players scored with three assists dished out.<br /> <br /> "I just tried to get us going," Cockfield said. "They are a tall team and our post guys were having a tough time and I felt I needed to take a few more shots to open things up. But defense is what wins games and I thought we did a good job most of the time."<br /> <br /> After Johnson built its biggest lead at 61-40, Buford stormed back with a 20-6 run to pull within 67-60 just a minute into the fourth quarter. But the Knights retook control with a 12-2 run in just a 1:05 span, capped by an assist and then a fast-break basket by Cockfield for a 79-62 lead with 5:50 left in the game.<br /> <br /> The Wolves never got closer than 11 points the rest of the way.<br /> <br /> "These guys play with such great chemistry," Steele said. "Whenever they've had some adversity they just rally together. It's a great bunch of kids to coach."<br /> <br /> Rod English and Andrew Sims provided a great duo at times combining for three fast-break baskets at key moments. English finished with 24 points and four assists while Sims had a season-high 22 points battling among four players 6-foot-7 or taller for the Wolves.<br /> <br /> Buford hung tough with the Knights in the first quarter. The two teams traded the lead seven times in the opening eight minutes. Johnson led 2-0 to start on a basket by English but Buford answered with a 8-2 run, capped by a Will Springer 3-pointer just two minutes into the game.<br /> <br /> Johnson answered with a an 11-2 spurt, capped by an English steal and layup for a 15-10 lead. The Wolves would come back with an 11-4 run that ended with a Keyton Gibson free throw with :04 left for a 21-19 lead.<br /> <br /> The Knights, however, closed out the first quarter with a running 3-pointer by English for a 22-21 lead. That seemed to fire Johnson up.<br /> <br /> The Knights opened the second quarter 13-2 run, capped by a Sims stick-back basket with 3:39 left in the half for a 35-23 lead. Johnson would take a 42-29 lead into halftime after a 5-2 spurt in the final two minutes.<br /> <br /> Buford hit eight 3-pointers and had five players in double-figures but 19 turnovers proved crucial as they led to 18 Johnson points.<br /> <br /> Tre Hansbrough paced the Wolves with 24 points, including three 3-pointers. Taylor Mills added 16 points and Springer finished with 12, including three treys. Gibson had 11 points and Kyrin Galloway and Sahil Patel had 10 points each for Buford.<br /> <br /> Johnson, which has won seven straight games by double-digits and is now 4-0 on the road, next will travel to White County on Friday in another key Region 8-AAAA contest.<br /> <br /> Buford, which had won three of four games until Tuesday, next will travel to North Hall on Friday in a key Region 8-AAAA contest.<br /> <br /> <b>Buford girls 72<br /> Johnson 21</b><br /> <br /> Buford opened the game with an 10-0 run en route to the win in Region 8-AAAA action.<br /> <br /> Johnson cut it to 10-2 on a Sarah Williams basket but that would be as close as the Lady Knights could get. The Lady Wolves (13-3, 2-0 Region 8-AAAA) went on a 20-0 run over the first and second quarters to pull away for a 37-4 lead. Buford would lead 46-9 at halftime.<br /> <br /> Johnson would get as close as 46-12 on a 3-pointer by Sarah Williams to open the third quarter but Buford would eventually lead 61-18 heading into the fourth quarter.<br /> <br /> The Lady Wolves led by as many as 53 in the final period.<br /> <br /> Chandler Hall poured in 14 points to lead nine Lady Wolves in scoring. Corey Staples added 12 points and Katy Bisges and Camille Anderson had 10 points apiece for Buford.<br /> <br /> Williams led Johnson with 13 points, including three 3-pointers.<br /> <br /> It was the fifth straight win and ninth in 10 games for Buford. Johnson (4-12, 0-2) has lost 10 of its last 11 after a 3-2 start.
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