Bulldogs go 2-3 in Hondo tounament
The Bandera varsity basketball team traveled to Hondo for the Owls’ annual December basketball tournament and the Bulldogs went 2-3 over the weekend, taking home wins over Hondo and San Antonio Kennedy while dropping games to Lee Academy, San Antonio Burbank and Southwest Legacy.
Legacy, which won the tournament and went a perfect 5-0, was the first matchup for the Bulldogs. Bandera fell behind when the Titans got hot in the second quarter, but the Bulldogs cut the deficit to just four points late in the third before Legacy pulled back ahead and sealed the win down the stretch.
Bandera was able to bounce back later in the evening Thursday, though, securing an impressive win over the Owls that was highlighted by great team defense from start to finish. The Bulldogs held the Owls to 45 points, a season low for Hondo, and tallied 18 assists as a team on the offensive end. Friday was a tough day for
Friday was a tough day for Bandera as each game resulted in a hardfought loss. First, Lee Academy jumped out to an early lead that forced the Bulldogs to play from behind from the start. Bandera trimmed the deficit to four points with a minute to go before the Wolfpack were able to finish the game from the free throw line. San Antonio Burbank also got off to a strong start in Game 2 Friday before the Bulldogs clawed back, ultimately falling short in a seven-point loss. Bandera finished tournament
Bandera finished tournament play Saturday on a high note, turning up the defensive intensity and defeating San Antonio Kennedy 65-39. The Bulldogs held the Rockets to just 13 first-half points and came up with 16 steals as a team in the win.
Junior point guard Noah Barnett was named to the All-Tournament Team while posting an average of 11 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Senior Tyler Moore also had a strong showing, averaging 15 points and 8 rebounds. Ryan Perez was the third Bulldog player to average double digits over the weekend, posting 10 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2 assists per game. Bandera moved to 6-4 on the season after playing five games in three days. The Bulldogs will return home to take on Ingram at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday night before traveling to the Comfort Tournament Thursday through Saturday.
“Tournaments are always a good way to learn about your team early in the season and there was a lot for us to take away from this weekend - we saw some good things, especially in the wins over Hondo and Kennedy. But we also saw how much a slow start in the first half can affect us and make things more difficult than they need to be,” said Coach Brady Keane.
“On Saturday, we started talking about playing with the mentality that we start the game down by 10 points. The guys bought into that mindset and it made a huge difference in our intensity from the opening tip. That is something we’ll carry with us as we move forward this season,” he said.