Photos by Nicole Flowers
January 16, 2025
Bulldogs boys basketball falls to Wimberley in competitive thriller
Bandera Prophet Staff
The Bandera boys basketball team battled in an exciting, back-and-forth game against Wimberley Tuesday night, but ultimately fell 81-70 after running out of gas late in the fourth quarter of the District 26-4A showdown.
The Bulldogs held a slim 15-14 lead after the first after coming out with a lot of energy on the defensive end and sharing the ball effectively on offense. Wimberley responded in the second quarter, outscoring Bandera 18-16 to take a narrow 32-31 lead into halftime. The Bulldogs regained control in the third quarter, though, outscoring the Texans 19-16 and entering the fourth with a 50-48 lead.
After leading 55-54 with 5:10 left, Bandera struggled to keep pace with Wimberley’s high-powered attack as the Texans began to pull away.
“We put together three and a half really good quarters, but we couldn’t sustain it in the fourth,” Bandera Head Coach Brady Keane said. “Wimberley made some big plays when it mattered, and I didn’t do a good job of finding ways to slow the game down for our guys. We turned the ball over too many times and came up just short against a solid team.”
Bandera shot 53.8 percent from the field and an impressive 52.9 percent from beyond the arc, going 9-of-17 from 3-point range. Defensively, the Bulldogs forced 11 turnovers, but Wimberley scored 35 points on Bandera’s own turnovers and that proved to be the difference.
Bandera senior Beau Bergfeld finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds while junior Jeffry Thomas had 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Senior Eli Salas eclipsed the 400-career assists mark while tallying 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds, and sophomore Cooper Franklin added nine points and four rebounds.
“Wimberley made it a point to get the ball out of Eli’s hands and I thought he did a phenomenal job of taking what the defense gave him and setting his teammates up for success,” Keane said. “Beau and Jeffry had a great night too, and we found a way to score 70 points while turning the ball over far too many times. If we value our possessions and protect the ball more effectively, I think the game finishes in our favor.”
Bandera, now 18-7 on the season, will be back in action on the road Friday at Navarro. Bandera is 4-0 and Navarro is 2-3 against common opponents, with the Bulldogs recording wins over YMLA, Kennedy, Memorial and La Grange. Navarro has a win over Kennedy and Memorial, but lost twice to YMLA and once to La Grange in an overtime finish.
“There are no off nights in this district,” Keane said. “We’ve come up just short in our first two games, and Navarro will be fired up to have a home game against us Friday night. We have to come out with the same intensity we had for the first 27 minutes Tuesday night, and take care of business to get ourselves back on track.”
The Bulldogs held a slim 15-14 lead after the first after coming out with a lot of energy on the defensive end and sharing the ball effectively on offense. Wimberley responded in the second quarter, outscoring Bandera 18-16 to take a narrow 32-31 lead into halftime. The Bulldogs regained control in the third quarter, though, outscoring the Texans 19-16 and entering the fourth with a 50-48 lead.
After leading 55-54 with 5:10 left, Bandera struggled to keep pace with Wimberley’s high-powered attack as the Texans began to pull away.
“We put together three and a half really good quarters, but we couldn’t sustain it in the fourth,” Bandera Head Coach Brady Keane said. “Wimberley made some big plays when it mattered, and I didn’t do a good job of finding ways to slow the game down for our guys. We turned the ball over too many times and came up just short against a solid team.”
Bandera shot 53.8 percent from the field and an impressive 52.9 percent from beyond the arc, going 9-of-17 from 3-point range. Defensively, the Bulldogs forced 11 turnovers, but Wimberley scored 35 points on Bandera’s own turnovers and that proved to be the difference.
Bandera senior Beau Bergfeld finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds while junior Jeffry Thomas had 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Senior Eli Salas eclipsed the 400-career assists mark while tallying 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds, and sophomore Cooper Franklin added nine points and four rebounds.
“Wimberley made it a point to get the ball out of Eli’s hands and I thought he did a phenomenal job of taking what the defense gave him and setting his teammates up for success,” Keane said. “Beau and Jeffry had a great night too, and we found a way to score 70 points while turning the ball over far too many times. If we value our possessions and protect the ball more effectively, I think the game finishes in our favor.”
Bandera, now 18-7 on the season, will be back in action on the road Friday at Navarro. Bandera is 4-0 and Navarro is 2-3 against common opponents, with the Bulldogs recording wins over YMLA, Kennedy, Memorial and La Grange. Navarro has a win over Kennedy and Memorial, but lost twice to YMLA and once to La Grange in an overtime finish.
“There are no off nights in this district,” Keane said. “We’ve come up just short in our first two games, and Navarro will be fired up to have a home game against us Friday night. We have to come out with the same intensity we had for the first 27 minutes Tuesday night, and take care of business to get ourselves back on track.”