WINTHROP — Inside the cozy comforts of the East Buchanan gym Tuesday, December 20, it appeared the Anamosa boys basketball team and the host Buccaneers were going to light up the scoreboard running up and down the court at sprinting speeds early on.

But once the contest settled down, defense dominated and helped spark the hosts to a 48-38 victory over the Raiders.

“Defensively we are a pretty good team,” said Anamosa boys basketball coach Kevin Barnes after the 10-point setback in the final game for both teams before the Christmas break. “We played hard and rebounded better, but our offense is inconsistent and we still struggle taking care of the ball.”

Anamosa (2-3, 2-2) hung tough with East Buchanan early on trailing just 10-8 after one frame, but as the second quarter wore on, the Raider offense struggled more and more as the Buccaneers took a 20-13 lead into the halftime break.

WINTHROP — It felt like Christmas on the court after the Raider girls basketball pulled out an amazing 47-44 triumph at East Buchanan Tuesday, December 20.

Unwrapping presents wasn’t supposed to be for another five days, but Anamosa gave themselves, their coaches and their fans who made the trip to Winthrop a great gift rallying from a 15-point deficit to defeat a very talented Buccaneer club.

“What a way to head into the Christmas break playing and winning a game like this one,” said a euphoric Raider girls basketball coach Jack Leighty after the come-from-behind road victory. “I knew all along this team was capable of doing something like this and to see it all play out on the court was great to watch. The heart this team showed and the determination to never give up even when things weren’t exactly going our way in the first half.”

Anamosa (3-7, 3-3) was struggling mightily to score points in the second quarter as the hosts went on an 8-2 spurt in the frame to take a 26-13 lead into the locker room at the halftime break.

“It wasn’t like we were turning the ball over a whole lot and not getting good looks at the basket,” said Leighty. “We were. The shots just weren’t falling and east Buchanan seemed to be hitting everything they threw up there.”

The Buccaneers held an 18-11 lead after a frantic first quarter of offense but in the second half, Anamosa changed the pace and turned the game around with a wild momentum swing.

“We turned up the defensive pressure and really forced East Buchanan into doing things they weren’t comfortable doing,” said Leighty. “That really seemed to get our intensity up and our offense just started clicking then too.”

Trailing 28-13 in the third quarter and seemingly headed to a loss, the Raider girls pressured the hosts forcing turnovers and turned up the level on their offensive sets as well attacking the basket each and every possession.

Anamosa outscored East Buchanan 14-11 in the frame and trailing by 10 points, 37-27, with eight minutes remaining.

“With the way things were swinging, we knew we had plenty of time to make a comeback,” said Leighty. “And we did it.”