Basketball fans get their money's worth at Centerville Junior High Tournament

Bison 7th graders Brendon Smith (#33) and Bobby Dorman battle the Leon Cougars for possession. Van'Go'photo Centerville was THE place to be this weekend as local junior high schools basketball team competed for area braggin' rights. Both gyms at CHS were filled throughout the three-day tournament, and many fans ran back and forth in order to catch both the boys and girls in action.

7TH GRADE BOYS

Buffalo's seventh grade boys dominated their bracket. A forty-point win over Teague and another big victory over Franklin (44-16) put the Bison into Saturday evening's championship game with the youngest Leon Cougars. Both teams were talented and skilled beyond their years, so fans enjoyed a high-scoring finale. Buffalo led by five at halftime, 25-20, but in the second half the Bison, sparked by Tyler Adams, Brendon Smith and Logan Jones, pulled away for a de- cisive 61-32 victory and the tournament championship.

8TH GRADE BOYS

Buffalo drew a tough spot in the bracket in their opening game on Thursday afternoon, and the eighth grade Bison suffered their first loss of the year as they bowed to Teague in a lowscoring defensive battle. The Lions and Bison were tied after one quarter. Teague pulled ahead by five at halftime and stretched their advantage to nine after three quarters. The Bison fought back to within 5, but Teague finished on top, 29-24. The Bison were led by Travis Cunningham's ten points which included a trio of three-pointers.

Bison 8th graders bring home 3rd place trophy In their second game, the Bison faced Leon. Buffalo dominated the Cougars, leading 19-2 at halftime and going on to take the win 33-16. Cunningham, with 20 points, again led all scorers.

In their final game on Saturday afternoon, BJHS and Franklin faced off to battle for the 3rd place trophy. The Bison jumped out early and led 12-6 after one quarter and a comfortable 29-17 at halftime. The third quarter belonged to the Lions, however, and they clawed their way back into the game and had pulled to within one point, 30-29, going into the final period. The score was tied up several times in the fourth quarter, but in the final minute Cain Hayes had a bucket, a quick steal and a free throw that gave the Bison the momentum they needed to clinch the win, 39- 38. Hayes led his teammates with 12 points, followed by Ty Tollett with 10 points.

The team from Teague won the 8th grade division and the Centerville Tigers took second place.