Photos by Nicole Flowers
December 4, 2023
Boys basketball finishes fourth at Salado Tournament
Sports Staff
The Bandera Prophet
The Bandera boys basketball team traveled to Salado for the Coach Smith Tournament over the weekend and improved to 5-5 on the season after finishing fourth among a loaded field of competition.
The Bulldogs recorded wins over Class 5A Austin LASA and 4A Salado to open the tournament before falling to 5A Belton, the tournament runner-up, on Friday. Bandera bounced back with a dominant win over 4A El Paso Irvin Friday night, and then fell to 4A Gatesville in a hard-fought game Saturday morning.
“The Salado tournament was a great challenge for us,” Head Coach Brady Keane said. “We competed against a high level of competition from start to finish, and I think we got a lot out of those games that will help us prepare for district play. It was a great weekend of team bonding and competition, and it was a lot of fun to see our guys take a step forward on the court as well.”
Against LASA, the Bulldogs utilized a strong defensive effort to slow the tempo of the game down and force LASA into taking low-percentage shots offensively. Bandera held LASA to single digits in the first, second and third quarters, and limited the Raptors to just 4-of-17 shooting from the 3-point line.
Seniors Bryson Holden and Cale Barnett finished with 14 points apiece, and Holden added six rebounds. Junior Eli Salas had 13 points, six rebounds and three assists, and senior Isaac Segura finished with 10 points and nine rebounds in the win.
“Our guys really came out ready to play,” Keane said. “LASA had a big size advantage on us and they had been shooting the ball really well. We played great defensively and pushed the ball in transition successfully, and that put us in a good position going into the fourth quarter. I thought we showed a huge improvement in fourth quarter poise, and that helped us hang on for a quality win.”
The Bulldogs used the momentum from that game to take down the host team, Salado, Thursday evening, behind another strong defensive effort. The Eagles, who scored 80 points in an overtime win over Davenport earlier this season, were limited to 46 points and shot just 19-of-56 from the field.
Salas had a team-high 20 points, six rebounds and four assists in the victory while Segura added 15 points and 12 rebounds. Bryson Holden had two points and eight rebounds, and Layne Bourgeois contributed three points, four rebounds and two assists.
“The Salado game was a lot of fun to be a part of,” Keane said. “It was a back-and-forth battle for most of the game, and then we did a good job of responding after they took the lead in the final minute. We didn’t panic, we executed our offense, and we got a key stop when it mattered. Games like that will go a long way toward helping us prepare for what I think is going to be an extremely competitive battle for the playoffs in our district.”
On Friday, the Bulldogs ran into a red-hot Belton team that knocked down 13 3-point shots and controlled the rebounding battle to build a comfortable lead the Bulldogs struggled to cut into. Bandera bounced back well in the evening against El Paso Irvin, though, holding the Rockets to just 29 points.
Salas had 12 points and five rebounds against Belton while Layne Bourgeois had nine points and three rebounds. Against Irvin, Holden and Salas had 14 points apiece while Corben Gonzales added 13 points. Isaac Segura had six and Logan Pierce contributed six as well in the win.
Playing their sixth game of the week Saturday against Gatesville, the Bulldogs struggled offensively and finished with one of the team’s worst shooting performance of the season. Bandera kept the game close with another strong defensive effort, but Gatesville maintained its lead down the stretch and held on for a win to clinch third place.
“Belton is probably one of the most talented teams we’ve competed against in the last four years and we did a good job of coming out and getting after it,” Keane said. “The biggest issue for us was the rebounding margin and second-chance points. Those same issues came back to bite us on Saturday, but overall I thought we did a great job of fighting through adversity and growing from the tough competition we faced.”
The Bulldogs will return to action at home Tuesday against 5A Medina Valley before traveling to the Comfort tournament this weekend, where they will open with state-ranked No. 8 Poth. Bandera will then take on Devine and Hondo next week in the final tune-up games before the start of the district schedule.
“We played a lot of tough competition last week and that’s not going to change this week,” Keane said. “The schedule was built to push and challenge our guys as we prep for what I think is one of the toughest district in all of Class 4A. Our goal is to continue getting better one day at a time and I think we’ve done that so far.”
The Bulldogs recorded wins over Class 5A Austin LASA and 4A Salado to open the tournament before falling to 5A Belton, the tournament runner-up, on Friday. Bandera bounced back with a dominant win over 4A El Paso Irvin Friday night, and then fell to 4A Gatesville in a hard-fought game Saturday morning.
“The Salado tournament was a great challenge for us,” Head Coach Brady Keane said. “We competed against a high level of competition from start to finish, and I think we got a lot out of those games that will help us prepare for district play. It was a great weekend of team bonding and competition, and it was a lot of fun to see our guys take a step forward on the court as well.”
Against LASA, the Bulldogs utilized a strong defensive effort to slow the tempo of the game down and force LASA into taking low-percentage shots offensively. Bandera held LASA to single digits in the first, second and third quarters, and limited the Raptors to just 4-of-17 shooting from the 3-point line.
Seniors Bryson Holden and Cale Barnett finished with 14 points apiece, and Holden added six rebounds. Junior Eli Salas had 13 points, six rebounds and three assists, and senior Isaac Segura finished with 10 points and nine rebounds in the win.
“Our guys really came out ready to play,” Keane said. “LASA had a big size advantage on us and they had been shooting the ball really well. We played great defensively and pushed the ball in transition successfully, and that put us in a good position going into the fourth quarter. I thought we showed a huge improvement in fourth quarter poise, and that helped us hang on for a quality win.”
The Bulldogs used the momentum from that game to take down the host team, Salado, Thursday evening, behind another strong defensive effort. The Eagles, who scored 80 points in an overtime win over Davenport earlier this season, were limited to 46 points and shot just 19-of-56 from the field.
Salas had a team-high 20 points, six rebounds and four assists in the victory while Segura added 15 points and 12 rebounds. Bryson Holden had two points and eight rebounds, and Layne Bourgeois contributed three points, four rebounds and two assists.
“The Salado game was a lot of fun to be a part of,” Keane said. “It was a back-and-forth battle for most of the game, and then we did a good job of responding after they took the lead in the final minute. We didn’t panic, we executed our offense, and we got a key stop when it mattered. Games like that will go a long way toward helping us prepare for what I think is going to be an extremely competitive battle for the playoffs in our district.”
On Friday, the Bulldogs ran into a red-hot Belton team that knocked down 13 3-point shots and controlled the rebounding battle to build a comfortable lead the Bulldogs struggled to cut into. Bandera bounced back well in the evening against El Paso Irvin, though, holding the Rockets to just 29 points.
Salas had 12 points and five rebounds against Belton while Layne Bourgeois had nine points and three rebounds. Against Irvin, Holden and Salas had 14 points apiece while Corben Gonzales added 13 points. Isaac Segura had six and Logan Pierce contributed six as well in the win.
Playing their sixth game of the week Saturday against Gatesville, the Bulldogs struggled offensively and finished with one of the team’s worst shooting performance of the season. Bandera kept the game close with another strong defensive effort, but Gatesville maintained its lead down the stretch and held on for a win to clinch third place.
“Belton is probably one of the most talented teams we’ve competed against in the last four years and we did a good job of coming out and getting after it,” Keane said. “The biggest issue for us was the rebounding margin and second-chance points. Those same issues came back to bite us on Saturday, but overall I thought we did a great job of fighting through adversity and growing from the tough competition we faced.”
The Bulldogs will return to action at home Tuesday against 5A Medina Valley before traveling to the Comfort tournament this weekend, where they will open with state-ranked No. 8 Poth. Bandera will then take on Devine and Hondo next week in the final tune-up games before the start of the district schedule.
“We played a lot of tough competition last week and that’s not going to change this week,” Keane said. “The schedule was built to push and challenge our guys as we prep for what I think is one of the toughest district in all of Class 4A. Our goal is to continue getting better one day at a time and I think we’ve done that so far.”