Anton hosted the 62nd annual Bulldog Classic basketball tournament this past week, and the Anton Bulldogs won the boy’s bracket, and the Smyer Lady Cats won the girl’s bracket.
The Lady Cats dominated all three of their matchups starting with Dawson, who they beat 74-13, off the back of Ellie Nelson’s 26-point performance.
They would follow that up with a 54-33 win over Petersburg, led by Nelson with 18 points, and Rylee Riedel and Jada Hernandez both with 13 points.
The Lady Cats took down Anton in the Championship, winning 51-36 led by Nelson with 17 points.
“We put together a really complete weekend,” Lady Cats Head Coach Todd Nichols said. “We are starting to hit our stride with the style that we play, and it was fun to see the girls play at a high level all weekend. Especially as we get closer to district starting.”
That high level play didn’t go unnoticed as Ellie Nelson was the Girl’s Bulldog Classic Most Valuable Player, and Jada Hernandez and Rylee Riedel were both selected to the All-Tournament team.
Shoutout to the Anton Lady Bulldogs as well for finishing runner-up after tak ing down Springlake-Earth, Lazbuddie and Ralls in tournament play. On the boy’s side, the Anton Bulldogs beat Hart 75-17, Lazbuddie 67-49, Springlake-Earth 55-31 and Dawson 51-36, in that order to win the Bulldog Classic Championship.
“It was a beautiful feeling.
It was the first time since I’ve been here that I felt we were truly and thoroughly playing as a team,” Bulldogs Head Coach Ezekiel Clay said. “It’s exciting to perform well in a packed gym for our home fans. We have some young guns on the team, so it was good to have experience with a playofflike atmosphere. Because ultimately, while winning our tournament trophy was awesome, we are working to bring home some gold balls this season.”
Coach Clay also commended his athletes for adjusting and playing more selflessly by moving the ball around, and for playing clean intense defense, which was huge in securing the tournament title.
Leading scorers in each game were Shooter Campos with 25 points and Isaiah Alafa with 15 points against Hart, Campos with 36 points against Lazbuddie, Alafa with 19 points against Springlake-Earth and Zian Martinez with 16 points against Dawson.
The Smyer Bobcats also competed in the Bulldog Classic, going 1-2 in tournament play. The Bobcats beat Ralls 28-21, but lost to Wilson twice, 48-32 and 34-31.
Max Benevedes led the Bobcats in the win against Ralls with 13 points. Following the tournament, the Bobcats now sit at 2-3 on the season.
“This young team has shown its inexperience on both ends of the floor, with senior point guard Austin Martinez being the only varsity returner with any experience,” Bobcats Head Coach Jared Colley said. "This team shows flashes of how good it can be but needs to find its identity both offensively and defensively and master the little things it takes to be successful."