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February 14, 2022
Bulldogs qualify for playoffs with 55-51 win over Fredericksburg
Bandera win is the first in 15 contests against the Billies
By Chris Darus
The Bandera Prophet
In front of a packed gym and a partisan crowd, the Bandera Bulldogs varsity boys basketball team secured a playoff spot and beat Fredericksburg for the first time in eight years with a resounding 55-51 win Tuesday night.
In a decidedly defensive battle, the teams were never separated by many points with the end of the first half showing just a one point edge to Fredericksburg, 24-23.
The game opened up offensively in the second half with teams trading shot for shot until the Bulldogs took the lead for good late in the third at 35-34.
Starting the fourth, with Bandera up by six, 42-36, Fredericksburg made a final push to get within four points but fell short and Bandera took the 55-51 win.
“Tuesday night was a big win for our program! We snapped a 15-
game losing streak against Fredericksburg, a perennial playoff power, to clinch a playoff berth, and doing it in front of a huge home crowd is a great accomplishment our kids should be proud of. They put in so much work in an empty gym starting in March of 2021 because they were committed to reaching this point. We set four goals at the beginning of the season: win a tournament cham pionship, win 20 games, make the playoffs and win a playoff game. We’ re three for four so far and arereally excited about having the opportunity to work toward that fourth goal over the next two weeks,” coach Brady Keane said.
Bandera still has one game left in district. They had a road game against sixth ranked 4A powerhouse Boerne Friday night and they will host Wimberley on Tuesday night.
“With the win over Fred, we go to 22-10 on the season and 5-3 in district. A win over district leading, Boerne Friday and the second
seed, Wimberley on Tuesday to close out the season would move us into a tie for second place entering the playoffs,” Keane said.
Currently, third seeded Bandera would face the second seeded team in District 27-4A in the first round of the playoffs. At the moment, that would be 23-7 (4-2) La Vernia, but that could change by the end of district play.
In other Bandera vs. Fred action, the Bulldog freshmen lost 40-31 and the Bandera JV took a hard fought, 43-29 win.
In a decidedly defensive battle, the teams were never separated by many points with the end of the first half showing just a one point edge to Fredericksburg, 24-23.
The game opened up offensively in the second half with teams trading shot for shot until the Bulldogs took the lead for good late in the third at 35-34.
Starting the fourth, with Bandera up by six, 42-36, Fredericksburg made a final push to get within four points but fell short and Bandera took the 55-51 win.
“Tuesday night was a big win for our program! We snapped a 15-
game losing streak against Fredericksburg, a perennial playoff power, to clinch a playoff berth, and doing it in front of a huge home crowd is a great accomplishment our kids should be proud of. They put in so much work in an empty gym starting in March of 2021 because they were committed to reaching this point. We set four goals at the beginning of the season: win a tournament cham pionship, win 20 games, make the playoffs and win a playoff game. We’ re three for four so far and arereally excited about having the opportunity to work toward that fourth goal over the next two weeks,” coach Brady Keane said.
Bandera still has one game left in district. They had a road game against sixth ranked 4A powerhouse Boerne Friday night and they will host Wimberley on Tuesday night.
“With the win over Fred, we go to 22-10 on the season and 5-3 in district. A win over district leading, Boerne Friday and the second
seed, Wimberley on Tuesday to close out the season would move us into a tie for second place entering the playoffs,” Keane said.
Currently, third seeded Bandera would face the second seeded team in District 27-4A in the first round of the playoffs. At the moment, that would be 23-7 (4-2) La Vernia, but that could change by the end of district play.
In other Bandera vs. Fred action, the Bulldog freshmen lost 40-31 and the Bandera JV took a hard fought, 43-29 win.