Buford focuses on defense to take down mentor.

Multiple technical fouls called.

Players nearly getting into royal rumbles.

Crowd booing when the opposing team enter the floor.

This sums up the battle between Munford and Millington when held in Trojan territory. Millington creates this type of atmosphere because it is the only major sport where their chance to beat the Cougars are high, so they will do whatever means necessary to receive bragging rights.

So, how does Coach Nick Buford and his crew respond?

By taking these moment and enjoying it.

“We made it a point this year to try to schedule games in those types of environments,” said Buford, who coached at Millington before Munford, “they are starting to become accustom to that hostile environment.”

The momentum was on their side all four quarters as they pulled a 69-47 victory and silenced the Millington crowd. They led the entire game.

After a clean first quarter with the Cougars being up 14-6, the start of the second is when the problems started rolling for the home team when Munford Forward Jordan Bell earned the first of three technical called in the game when him and Millington Senior Kevion Fayne- who received the final tech- got chirpy but Fayne’s personal foul he picked up prevented Millington from shooting two free throws and retaining possession to make it Munford’s ball.

Less than forty seconds left before halftime, Millington ace Blake Garner received a technical for starting a push-and-shove contest that forced the coaches on each side to grab  their players to calm down the tension.

With Garner benched the rest of the game, it was game over for the Trojans.

Munford was leading as much as twenty points and Buford pulled all the starters out halfway through, but they returned early in the fourth to make a big lead before returning to the bench for the final minute of the game.

Buford’s goal going into to this game was to rely more on the defensive side of the game, and his team passed that test with flying colors by holding the Trojans down to 47 points.

The victory takes away Millington chances to boast about who is the better basketball team of the two, but it indicates that Buford has two wins to one over his mentor, Jewel Gates, since he became the head coach.

Buford has high respect for Gates as that was his former coach and considers him a “father-figure” in his life.