PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — The Buford boys basketball team traveled to Panama City Beach, Fla. to participate in the Marlin Christmas Classic held at Arnold High School. The tournament features eight boys teams and eight girls teams with schools from Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida.
Buford’s opening game on Friday, December 27 was against the host team of Arnold High School. The Wolves beat the Marlins 66-43. Leading the offense for Buford were Caleb Williams and Jaylon Taylor who each scored 14 points. Caleb Blackwell added 11 points for Buford (9-3).
In the Wolves semifinal game, they played Webster County (Ky.) on Saturday, December 28. Buford (10-3) held on to beat the Trojans 71-66. Sebastian Augustave had the most points scored during this game with 26 points. Other noteworthy performances were from Blackwell, Taylor, and London Williams who each contributed 12 points and five rebounds in their win against Webster County. This win would send the Wolves to the finals where they would play another Georgia team, Banks County.
No games were played on Sunday, only a skills competition. The competition consisted of four events; slam dunk contest, a three-point contest, sharpshooting competition, and the skills challenge. Buford won all four events. Taylor won the slam dunk competition. Connor Johnson took home the three-point contest. Alahn Sumler beat out his competition to earn the sharpshooting champion title and Carson Bell won the skills challenge.
In the final game to determine the tournament champion, Buford took on Banks County on Monday, December 30. The Wolves would defeat the Leopards 61-43 capturing the Marlin Christmas Classic Championship title. Blackwell would lead the offense for Buford (11-3) in this game with 19 points. Augustave contributed with 17 points while Williams scored 13 points and James Munlyn added 12 points to earn the win for the Wolves.
Up next for Buford is a region game against Walnut Grove at Walnut Grove High School on Friday, January 3, 2020, at 7:30 p.m.
— By Alicia Couch Payne
