The Boys’ Varsity Basketball team hosted a tournament in the big gym from December 5-7. The ‘Dawgs went 4-1 in the tournament, taking victories over Lehman, LBJ Austin, and Vandegrift.
“After getting third place and going 4-1 I believe we are finally starting to get it as a team,” guard Joshua Baskin said. “After getting our players back from injury, I feel that we are doing the right things to prepare for upcoming district play.”
In their first game of the tournament against Lehman, the Bulldogs won 84-23. The ‘Dawgs maintained a giant lead the entire game.
“We’re getting back to winning basketball,” center Lamin Jabbi said.
After securing their first win of the tournament, Bowie went up against a tough LBJ Austin team. The game was extremely close until the final buzzer with the Bulldogs winning a really tight game by a score of 48-46.
“We all played our part and we did what we needed to do to win,” guard Micheal Lu said.
This win gave the ‘Dawgs a 2-0 record in the tournament and it showed. Going into the next game against Vandegrift, the ‘Dawgs energy rode high and the score reflected that. Junior guard Drew Elizando took a shot just seconds before the half-time buzzer, securing an extra three points for the Dawgs and wrapping up the first half of the game.
“We probably played our best game of the year against Vandegrift,” coach Joseph Pendal said.
The game started strong for Bowie but ultimately peaked in performance in the second half, with the ‘Dawgs gaining a double-digit lead over the Vipers.
“In the Vandegrift game I came off the bench and played solid defense and aggressive offense,” guard Derrick Osobase said.
With a final score of 58-49 Bowie, this match-up added a third consecutive victory to the Bulldogs tournament record. Following the win over Vandegrift, the Bulldogs took their only tournament loss against Cedar Hill with a final score of 73-59.
“I think that at the beginning we were doing well resounding-wise and hitting shots but I feel we didn’t come out into the second half as well as we should’ve and that cost us our lead,” Osobase said. “At the end of the day, I think we should’ve beat them but it was a good learning experience.”
In the final game in the tournament for Bowie was a rematch against LBJ Austin. Both teams came into the game aggressively, and eager to win due to the close last game. Despite LBJ being eager for the win, the ‘Dawgs won by an even bigger point differential than the previous match-up.
“Our team played well in both games against LBJ,” Lu said. “I think our team is getting hot at the right time and we continue to get better every single game.”
Overall, the tournament was a win for the Bulldogs, exiting with four big wins. The ‘Dawgs played with intensity and got to face off against teams they don’t normally see such as Lehman from Kyle as well as Cedar Hill.
“I think this was a very competitive tournament and everybody played their best,” Osobase said. “Without this tournament, we would not have seen what competition is outside of Austin.”
In the end, the Bulldogs got third place and played well throughout the tournament, which showed steps in the right direction, according to Pendal.
“It was a really good step forward for us,” Pendal said. “The team is making big steps in the right direction and is prime to be a fierce competitor for any team in its way.”
