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(Photo/Alex Havardansky) Bry Armstrong holds the basketball in the corner and looks to either shoot or pass against a Wichita Falls Christ Academy defender during the Bucks’ second game of the opening week of the Graham fall basketball league Monday, Sept. 22. -
(Photo/Alex Havardansky) Connor Salazar dribbles up court during the Bucks’ opening week of the Graham fall basketball league Monday, Sept. 22. -
(Photo/Alex Havardansky) Luis Palacios plays defense against a Wichita Falls Christ Academy player during the Bucks' second game of the opening week of the Graham fall basketball league Monday, Sept. 22. -
(Photo/Alex Havardansky) Luis Palacios dribbles up court and looks to pass to the corner against the Jacksboro Tigers as the Bucks competed in the first week of the Graham fall basketball league Monday, Sept. 22.
As part of their offseason preparations for the upcoming winter basketball season, the Breckenridge Buckaroos basketball team is participating in a fall league at the Graham Junior High Old Gym.
While they are minus the players that are currently in the midst of the football season, it gives the basketball-focused players a chance to face off against some friendly competition as a warmup to the regular season.
On the opening night of the league Monday, Sept. 22, the Bucks faced off against the Jacksboro Tigers and the Wichita Falls Christ Academy Warriors.
After falling behind 5-0 early against Jacksboro, Connor Salazar knocked down the first made basket for the Bucks on a layup. The Tigers hit a three-pointer to increase their lead to 8-2, before Salazar answered with a three-pointer of his own to get the Bucks within three points at 8-5.
The game didn’t stay close for too long, as the Tigers extended their lead out to 20-7 at the end of the first half of play. The Bucks hit a putback layup to make the score 10-7, before Jacksboro went on a 10-point run.
Breckenridge stayed aggressive shooting the ball in the second half, but struggled to find the net too often and was trailing 24-12. The Bucks were able to muster up a few more points, but ultimately fell 30-18.
In the second game against the Warriors, the Bucks stayed competitive throughout the game as they leaned on Salazar to lead the offensive push. The game was tied at four early on, and then tied back up at six when Bry Armstrong hit a layup.
Salazar found Luis Palacios in the paint for a layup as the Bucks took an 8-6 lead and Salazar then scored a layup of his own.
The Warriors started to fight back when Salazar broke away for an open layup for a 16-13 lead. After some back-and-forth scoring, the Bucks wound up trailing at the half, 20-18.
Breckenridge took the lead back early in the second half, with Armstrong finishing off a 360 putback for the 22-20 lead.
A couple of three-pointers from the Bucks, including one from Palacios, put them up 28-23 before the Warriors came back to tie it at 32. Armstrong then came back with a tough and-one layup and knocked down the free throw for the 35-32 lead.
The Warriors would then pull back out to a 39-35 lead after a few unanswered baskets. Armstrong scored a couple more baskets down low, as the deficit was 43-41 for the Bucks. The Warriors, however, scored seven straight points to end the game for the 50-41 win as the Bucks went 0-2 on the day.
