Photos courtesy of Levi Mott Media
December 12, 2023
Bulldogs take consolation championship at Comfort Tournament
Sports Staff
The Bandera Prophet
The Bandera boy’s basketball team went 3-1 at the Comfort Tournament over the weekend, improving the team’s record to 9-6 on the season and securing a consolation championship in the process.
The Bulldogs fell to state-ranked #8 Poth 52-38 in the tournament’s opener before taking down San Antonio Stacey 60-28, San Antonio Randolph 49-26, and Ingram 53-40. Junior point guard Elijah Salas earned a spot on the All-Tournament team after averaging 10.5 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in four games.
“We got off to a slow start on Thursday but bounced back well and finished it the right way,” Head Coach Brady Keane said. “It was a good tournament for us and I thought we did a great job of responding and coming together as a team after a tough loss in the opener.”
The Bulldogs matched Poth early in the first game and even took a one-point lead into the halftime break. But Bandera struggled in the third quarter as the Pirates outscored the Bulldogs 20-5, building a lead that forced the Bulldogs to speed up the pace of play down the stretch. Poth had 22 offensive rebounds and 22 second-chance points in game.
Corben Gonzales had 10 points, five rebounds and two steals for Bandera against Poth while Salas added nine points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. Cale Barnett had six points and four rebounds, Bryson Holden had five points and three rebounds and Layne Bourgeois finished with five points and three rebounds.
“I thought we did a really good job of forcing them into tough shots offensively, we just struggled to limit it to that one shot and secure the defensive rebounds we needed to win the game,” Keane said. “That’s definitely a point of emphasis for us moving forward and we did a good job of dominating that category for the rest of the tournament.”
Bandera responded well with a 49-26 win over Randolph, holding the Ro Hawks to just eight second half points, including just two in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs limited Randolph to just two second-chance points.
Gonzales posted 14 points and three steals, Jeffry Thomas had 10 points, four steals and three assists, Barnett had six points, Salas had five points, eight rebounds, three assists and four steals and Beau Bergfeld had five points and four rebounds.
After defeating Randolph, Bandera moved on to play San Antonio Stacey and dominated from start to finish. Stacey was held to single digits in all four quarters, and managed just four points in the final eight minutes.
Salas had 12 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two steals while Barnett posted 12 points, three rebounds and two assists. Gonzales had nine points and five steals, Bourgeois had eight points and four rebounds, Thomas had seven points and two rebounds, Holden had six points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Isaac Segura finished with four points and six rebounds.
“The Randolph and Stacey games were great for us defensively,” Keane said. “We controlled the pace and were really efficient in transition. I thought we shared the ball really well – we had a combined 28 assists in those two games, and it was really fun to watch us make the right play offensively from start to finish.”
In the Consolation Championship, the Bulldogs dominated the second and third quarters to build a comfortable margin against Ingram. Bandera outscored the Warriors 31-13 in those two frames, fueling the 53-40 victory.
Salas had a game-high 16 points, 10 rebounds and three steals while Bourgeois scored 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range and grabbed nine rebounds. Gonzales had eight points, Segura had seven points and two blocks, and Holden finished with six points and eight rebounds.
The Bulldogs have two final tune-up games this week before opening district play on the road at Wimberley on Tuesday, Dec. 19. Bandera will travel to Devine tonight, Dec. 12, to take on the Warhorses before hosting Hondo at 5:30 p.m., Friday. The Bulldogs will honor their middle school basketball players at halftime of Friday’s game.
“These last two non-district games will do a good job of pushing us to where we need to be when we travel to Wimberley,” Keane said. “Devine does a great job of putting pressure on the ball and running the floor, just like we’ll see next week. Hondo is always a rivalry game, so our kids will be fired up for that one too. The most important time of the year is right around the corner, and we just have to keep focusing on doing what we do well and being the hardest-working and most excited team every time we take the floor.”
The Bulldogs fell to state-ranked #8 Poth 52-38 in the tournament’s opener before taking down San Antonio Stacey 60-28, San Antonio Randolph 49-26, and Ingram 53-40. Junior point guard Elijah Salas earned a spot on the All-Tournament team after averaging 10.5 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in four games.
“We got off to a slow start on Thursday but bounced back well and finished it the right way,” Head Coach Brady Keane said. “It was a good tournament for us and I thought we did a great job of responding and coming together as a team after a tough loss in the opener.”
The Bulldogs matched Poth early in the first game and even took a one-point lead into the halftime break. But Bandera struggled in the third quarter as the Pirates outscored the Bulldogs 20-5, building a lead that forced the Bulldogs to speed up the pace of play down the stretch. Poth had 22 offensive rebounds and 22 second-chance points in game.
Corben Gonzales had 10 points, five rebounds and two steals for Bandera against Poth while Salas added nine points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. Cale Barnett had six points and four rebounds, Bryson Holden had five points and three rebounds and Layne Bourgeois finished with five points and three rebounds.
“I thought we did a really good job of forcing them into tough shots offensively, we just struggled to limit it to that one shot and secure the defensive rebounds we needed to win the game,” Keane said. “That’s definitely a point of emphasis for us moving forward and we did a good job of dominating that category for the rest of the tournament.”
Bandera responded well with a 49-26 win over Randolph, holding the Ro Hawks to just eight second half points, including just two in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs limited Randolph to just two second-chance points.
Gonzales posted 14 points and three steals, Jeffry Thomas had 10 points, four steals and three assists, Barnett had six points, Salas had five points, eight rebounds, three assists and four steals and Beau Bergfeld had five points and four rebounds.
After defeating Randolph, Bandera moved on to play San Antonio Stacey and dominated from start to finish. Stacey was held to single digits in all four quarters, and managed just four points in the final eight minutes.
Salas had 12 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two steals while Barnett posted 12 points, three rebounds and two assists. Gonzales had nine points and five steals, Bourgeois had eight points and four rebounds, Thomas had seven points and two rebounds, Holden had six points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Isaac Segura finished with four points and six rebounds.
“The Randolph and Stacey games were great for us defensively,” Keane said. “We controlled the pace and were really efficient in transition. I thought we shared the ball really well – we had a combined 28 assists in those two games, and it was really fun to watch us make the right play offensively from start to finish.”
In the Consolation Championship, the Bulldogs dominated the second and third quarters to build a comfortable margin against Ingram. Bandera outscored the Warriors 31-13 in those two frames, fueling the 53-40 victory.
Salas had a game-high 16 points, 10 rebounds and three steals while Bourgeois scored 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range and grabbed nine rebounds. Gonzales had eight points, Segura had seven points and two blocks, and Holden finished with six points and eight rebounds.
The Bulldogs have two final tune-up games this week before opening district play on the road at Wimberley on Tuesday, Dec. 19. Bandera will travel to Devine tonight, Dec. 12, to take on the Warhorses before hosting Hondo at 5:30 p.m., Friday. The Bulldogs will honor their middle school basketball players at halftime of Friday’s game.
“These last two non-district games will do a good job of pushing us to where we need to be when we travel to Wimberley,” Keane said. “Devine does a great job of putting pressure on the ball and running the floor, just like we’ll see next week. Hondo is always a rivalry game, so our kids will be fired up for that one too. The most important time of the year is right around the corner, and we just have to keep focusing on doing what we do well and being the hardest-working and most excited team every time we take the floor.”