Bison in tourney thrillers

Sky-high and playing big, Micah Burnside- Jones brings a new dimension to the Bison’s game. Van’Go’photo The Buffalo Bison continue to hone their game with an eye towards the upcoming district competition. During the Christmas break they travelled to Lovelady for tournament play on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

GAME ONE found BHS matched up with Normangee on Monday morning. The Panthers were no problem for the Bison, who led 15-9 after a quarter, 26-21 at half, then exploded in the third to jump out 42-28, led by a seven-point quarter by Tate Hartley as Coach Warren Ringland put some of his JV men on the floor for the tournament experience. Normangee rallied in the final period, but Buffalo finished on top, 55-47.

Aaron Bell led the scoring with 14, followed by Creagor Elsom with 9, Micah Burnside-Jones and Hartley with 7 each, Ryan Read with a pair of treys, Cain Hayes had 5, Saxton Sims with 4, and Dylan Laningham with 2. Jordan Canady contributed a free throw.

The action was hot ‘n heavy when the Bison played Madisonville at the Lovelady Tournament on Tuesday. Van’Go’photo GAME TWO of the tournament pitted BHS against Palestine on Monday afternoon in what proved to be a thriller. The Bison starters had their work cut out for them, and had to come from behind for a one-point victory. Burnside-Jones led the charge in the first quarter with 8 BHS points, but Palestine led by four at the quarter. At half-time, the Bison still trailed by one, 27-28. The lead had changed to BHS' favor, 42-40 going into the final period, when Canady took command and poured in 14 points to clinch the 63-62 victory.

Canady finished the game with 24 points, and was 9 of 11 at the charity line. Burnside-Jones scored 19, Bell added 9, Read sank three three-pointer s for 9, and Sims added a bucket.

In GAME THREE BHS faced a strong and athletic Madisonville team on Tuesday afternoon in a game that consisted of two very different halves. MHS ruled the court the first half, and BHS outplayed them in the second. The Bison had spotted their opponent too many early points and could not make up the large deficit, but fans were treated to a thrilling game.

Turnover s plagued the Bison in the first two periods, and their shooting was off, as well. Canady led the Bison with 7 in the first quarter, but MHS outscored Buffalo 17-11. Madisonville then exploded in the second quarter with 26 points to take a huge halftime lead, 43-20. The Bison did not shut down, however, but came out of the locker room with renewed agression at both ends of the court. They began to chip away at the Mustangs' lead, with Burnside- Jones contributing 12 third-quarter points to lead the charge and the Bison were able to close the gap to 13, 57-44. In the fi- nal period, Canady was on fire for Buffalo. The Bison scored six quick points before MHS could answer. Bell took advantage of a defender's stumble and knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the Mustangs' lead to 5. Another trey by Canady with an "and one" got the Bison within 3, and Burnside-Jones got them within a field goal. Madisonville's offense took advantage of late trips to the free-throw line to hold the Bison at bay, however, and MHS pulled off the victory, 82-78.

Canady led all with an amazing 37 points, and led in assists. Burnside-Jones had a huge game as well. He knocked down 28 points, had 3 blocks, and led in rebounds with 12. Sims had 4 points and double-digit rebounds. Bell scored 5 and led in steals with 4. Hayes and Read contributed plenty of hustle and 2 points each, and Damian Rodriguez pulled down 5 boards.

GAME FOUR found the Bison facing district opponent Centerville, and it was another Battle Royale. The lead traded hands several times through the game, but the Tigers were on top at the final buzzer.

Buffalo had three-pointers by Bell and Read in the first quarter and led the Tigers 13-11 after one. The second quarter saw Centerville outscore BHS 15-8, and take a 26-21 lead into the locker room. The teams matched each other bucket for-bucket in the third, then Centerville took advantage of 23 fourth-quarter opportunities at the free throw line to pull away for a 53-45 victory.

Canady led BHS with 17 points, followed by Burnside- Jones with 12 and Bell’s 7. Read finished with 3 and Elsom, Hayes and Rodriguez added two apiece.

For Centerville, Michael Gwosdz led all scorers with 23 points and capitalized on ten of his 14 free throw opportunities. Clay Hardee contributed 9, with Ryan Payne scoring 7, Jonathan Cloud adding 6, Jamal High 5 and Garrett Chase 3.

THIS WEEK: The Bison and Tigers meet again in district play at Centerville on Tuesday evening with the JV tip-off scheduled at 5:30. On Friday (January 8) Buffalo hosts Groveton at the BHS gym.