Gaffney’s Malcolm Long shoots over a Yellow Jacket defender on Friday. Long and the Indians beat Union, 100-69.

Ledger Sports Editor

Gaffney big man Phillip Buckson gave coach Mark Huff the aggressive performance he’s been looking for.

Buckson had 17 points, 2 blocked shots and nine rebounds as the Indians improved to 2-0 with an impressive 100-69 victory at Union on Friday.

“Phillip played with a lot more aggressiveness and we need that from him every game,” Huff said.

In a game that was fast-paced from the start, the Indians also got solid performances from Nick Melton, who added 15 points; reserve Rodney Love, who had 13 points; and Donald Sims, who scored a team-high 18 points.

“Except for (Union) getting too many offensive rebounds, I thought that everybody gave a good effort and everybody scored,” Huff said.

Without Buckson in the lineup, the Yellow Jackets upset Gaffney at the Wofford summer basketball camp. This time, the Indians had Buckson and controlled the game from the start, jumping out to a quick 23-9 lead on a three-pointer by Blake Foster, who added 10 points.

Taylor Pitt, who scored a game-high 20 points, tried to rally the Jackets by hitting four straight three-pointers to cut the deficit to seven. Chris Stapleton hit another three-pointer to trim the Indians’ lead to just four early in the second quarter.

But the Indians wouldn’t fold on the road. Malcolm Long put the Indians up by nine before Melton sank a three-pointer and Love had a three-point play to extend the advantage to 49-35 at the break.

“We knew they were capable of hitting 3s,” Huff said. “But we shot the ball well, too.”

The Yellow Jackets, who were playing without two starters, got within 10 on two occasions in the third quarter, but the Indians thwarted the comebacks with spurts of their own. Love and Buckson had stickbacks to fuel those runs.

The Indians dominated the fourth quarter, turning the game into a display of their high-powered offense by outscoring the Yellow Jackets 33-16.

Melton and Sims hit three-pointers during a spurt that stretched the Indians lead to 88-58. But it was Long who had the crowd-pleasing basket when he sank a three-pointer to reach the 100-point mark.

Gaffney, 2-0, will host Byrnes on Tuesday.

Notes ... it was the first time the Indians topped the 100 mark since beating Blacksburg in the Sub Station II tournament last season ... Ques Tate added a team-high 9 assists ... the Indians hit nine three-pointers.