Busy week in Bison basketball

Jordan Canady flies to the basket as the Bison battled the Kennard Tigers. Van’Go’photo The Bison men travelled to Kennard for pick-up games on Tuesday, since the scheduled opponent, Cayuga, was still in the State football playoffs. The Junior Varsity came away with a 38-25 victory, but the Varsity men had a frustrating night.

VARSITY VS KENNARD

After jumping out to a quick 6-0 lead, the Bison's shooting game fell off and they gave up the lead in the final minute of the first quarter. Nothing else in the contest went their way. Buffalo trailed 8-12 after one quarter, 14- 25 at halftime, and 22-37 going into the final period. Using a high-energy press, they repeatedly stole the ball from the Tigers and chipped away at the deficit in the fourth quarter. The Bison outscored their opponent 21 to 17 in the final quarter, with Jordan Canady pouring in 13 points, but it was too little, too late, and the Tigers held on for the win, BHS 43 - KHS 54.

(EXTRA-long-legged) Jordan Nix pulls down a rebound in JV action with Kennard. Van’Go’photo Free throws proved to be the deciding factor in the game. The Tigers scored 21 points in 36 trips to the free throw line. Buffalo capitalized on five of nine opportunities.

Canady led the scoring with 28 points. Aaron Bell added 9, including one three-pointer. Saxton Sims was 4-for-4 at the free throw line and Damian Rodriguez rounded out the Bison scoring with a bucket.

JV vs KENNARD

The Junior Varsity men led throughout the contest (9-6 after one quarter, 20-11 at halftime, 28-17 after three) and enjoyed their first win of the season, 38-25. The Bison tormented the Tigers with high-pressure defense, and stole the ball 17 times.

Jordan Nix had a big fourth quarter and led the Bison scoring with 13 points and also led in rebounds with 7. Travis Cunningham scored 11 points, including one three-pointer. Austin Rayborn, released from doctor's orders, played his first game of the season and scored 8 points. Ty Tollett had 6 points and 6 rebounds . Rayborn and Cunningham led the team in steals with six each, and Tate Hartley contributed steals and dished out assists.

TOURNAMENT ACTION

The Varsity Bison participated in the Huntington Tournament over the weekend, where they picked up their first wins of the season.

Buffalo opened against Nacogdoches’ JV. The Bison led 32-21 at halftime, but their opponents closed to within one point going into the 4th quarter. BHS held on for a 56-53 win, their first of the season.

Game 2 pitted the Bison against a tough Crockett team, which held BHS to only 3 points in the first quarter, and knocked down three-pointers throughout the contest. Coach Ringland’s men found their rhythm in the second period and poured in 19 points, but were never able to make up the early deficit, and lost to the Bulldogs 46-74.

In Game 3 the Bison rebounded with a come-from-behind win over West, 46-41. The Bison trailed after three periods of play but the defense shut the Trojans down in the 4th, allowing no field goals in the final quarter, while Aaron Bell and Jordan Canady sparked the Bison offense with 8 and 7, respectively.

The Bison’s final opponent was Castleberry. BHS let a 26-18 halftime lead slip away as the Lions poured in 22 points in the final quarter.

Over the course of the tournament, senior Jordan Canady led his teammates with 72 points. Aaron Bell contributed 44, Ryan Read added 26. Saxton Sims scored 18, and Cain Hayes added 17. Rounding out the scoring for the Bison were Casey Helfenbien’s 8, Creagor Elsom’s 7, Logan Beard’s 4, Damian Rodriguez’ 3 and Curtis Yates’ 2.

JV take 2nd at Centerville

Coach Vic Wheeler took the reins of the JV team at Centerville’s Junior Varsity Tournament. The Bison made an impressive showing, and came away with the second place trophy.

On Thursday the Bison men dominated Anderson- Shiro, holding the Owls scoreless in two quarters on the way to a 47-6 win. Tate Hartley led the Bison scoring with 15 and Dylan Laningham, in his first outing with the team, scored 10.

Early Saturday afterbucket noon, BHS faced off with Elkhart, who had some strong outside shooters. The Bison, playing with intensity, led 32- 14 at halftime and rolled on to a 51-36 victory. Austin Rayborn led the offense with 13 points. Other Bison in double figures included Jordan Nix and Tate Hartley with 10 each.

In the final game the Bison faced off with the Franklin Lions in a very physical contest. Both teams wanted the championship title and both had come to play. The teams were evenly matched, but Franklin brought 15 players and could always put fresh legs on the floor, which proved to be the difference in the game. The Lions took the win by a final score of 44-31. Nix (13) and Rayborn (7) led the scoring for BHS, and Nix was the top rebounder.

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