Bison take second in Centerville Tourney

TOURNAMENT ACTION
GAME ONE

The Bison varsity men competed in Centerville's NHS Tournament last weekend and logged two victories before coming up against the host Tigers in the Championship match on Saturday afternoon.

In their first game, BHS faced Normangee on Thursday, and the Bison led from early on and held a 29-23 advantage at halftime. Buffalo held off the Panthers for a 55-50 victory. The Bison hit 10 of 12 freethrows, and teamwork was another big factor in the game, evidenced by Jordan Canady's 8 assists. Saxton Sims dominated the boards with 13 rebounds. Aaron Bell was the leading scorer with his season-high 23 points. Also scoring for the Bison were Sims (8), Canady (6), Damian Rodriguez (6), Ryan Read (5), Casey Helfenbein (4) and Cain Hayes (3).

GAME TWO

Buffalo’s second opponent was Iola. The teams played pretty evenly in the first half, with Buffalo up 14-13 after the first quarter and ahead 24-21 at halftime. Buffalo dominated the second half and won the game, 50-34. Bell again led all scorers with 19 points, and hit 7 of 8 free throws. Sims followed with 11, Canady scored 8 points, Hayes added 7, Read hit a three-pointer and Elsom tacked on a bucket. GAME THREE

Their previous victories put BHS in the Championship Game on Saturday afternoon, where they faced the Centerville Tigers. The Bison/Tiger rivalry usually makes for a good game, but this time the BHS men did not seem to have their heart in the game. The Tigers made good use of a height advantage and tough defense to jump out to a 17-7 lead after the first quarter. Turnovers hurt the Bison in the second period and their shooting game was off as well, and CHS increased their lead to 34- 14 at halftime. The second half found the Tigers out-rebounding the Bison, and BHS failed to take advantage of free throw opportunities. Both coaches let their second units get playing time in the fourth quarter. Centerville sailed on to a 61-29 victory and claimed the tournament title.

Canady led the Bison with 11 points, followed by Read with 6 and Elsom with 5. Logan Beard, Sims and Hayes each contributed a bucket and Bell sank a free throw.

THIS WEEK the BHS men are scheduled to host Onalaska in the first district contest on Friday, December 18, and Normangee comes to town on 12-21 for a 2:00 matchup.