Bucks varsity falls to Panthers after last-minute fouls

The Breckenridge Buckaroos varsity basketball team played Millsap on Friday, Jan. 4 and were able to secure a 51-40 win.

They followed this performance up against the Paradise Panthers. The Bucks got off to a quick start with three buckets to lead by a slim margin before the Panthers tied it up at 6-6, at 2:28 of first quarter. Then the Panthers slipped ahead by two baskets. Jose Arrellano (3) put in a three-pointer at the buzzer to end the first quarter only one point behind the Panthers, 9-10.

The second quarter began with a quick bucket for the Panthers and a basket and a›foul shot for Gerardo Palacios (10) pushed the score to a tie, 12-12, at 6:24 of the second quarter, with the Panthers adding another basket after that to lead 12-14 with 4:22 left in the half.

Both teams added another basket each and then Arellano fired in his second three-pointer at 3:24, deep in the second quarter to claim the slim lead, with the score now set at 17-16. The Bucks quickly added two more points and a foul shot to put the Bucks firmly ahead in the game, 20-16.

Justin Bell (20) added his own three-pointer and the Panthers got their own three-pointer. Added to that was two points by Kevin Franco (5)› and that pushed the score to 25-19, with 37 seconds left in second quarter. Then the Panthers added another quick basket to end at the half, 25-21.

As the third quarter began, Owen Woodward (13) was awarded a foul shot and then the Bucks rebounded at the other end and claimed a quick two points back at the Bucks end of the floor. The Panthers added their own bucket to make the score 28-23, at 5:38 of the third quarter.

Then the Panthers added two more quick points to creep up to 28-25. The Panthers added two more in rapid succession, 28-27, at 4:19 in the third and the Bucks led with the thinnest of margins once more. Franco added two more points and the Panthers added their own two for a score of 30-29, at 3:48 of third quarter. The Bucks added another three-pointer from Arellano and then another quick two points to the Bucks total at 35-29 and a more acceptable lead at 2:55 of the third.

The Bucks added another two points in a quick dash down the floor and then the Panthers got a foul shot to make it, 37-30, with 2:10 left in the third. Bell quickly added his second three-pointer for a 40-30 score with 36 seconds left in the third.

The Bucks started the fourth quarter with Solomon Stanton (24) awarded two foul shots, which he sank very convincingly, at 7:43. Then the Bucks added another two points and the Panthers had their own three-pointer go in and added another two points to make the score 42-35, at 6:43 of the fourth quarter. The Bucks put in another quick two points at 6:08 and the Panthers added two, which elevated the score to 44-37, and then the Panthers added another two points for a 44-39 score. Then there was another three-pointer for the Panthers and two more points made very quickly and the score was now tied once more at 44-44, at 3:36 of the fourth quarter.

The feeling of the Panthers creeping back into the game could be felt by the crowd, as the Bucks lead had suddenly slipped away before their eyes. Franco got a foul shot as well as Woodward and the Panthers quickly matched that with a bucket of their own and the score was tied once again 46-46, at 3:29.

The Panthers got two foul shots and a bucket and Palacios managed a basket for the Bucks and a score of 48-50, at 57 seconds. Then the Panthers got two more foul shots for a 48-52 score with 23 seconds.

Then the Bucks were slapped with two technical fouls and the final score was 48-54 in the lost column for the Bucks. The Bucks played the Brock Eagles for the first time this season Friday, Jan 11 and lost 44-70. They then played the Jacksboro Tigers at home on Tuesday, Jan 15. The Bucks record at time of publishing stands at 12-9 with a 2-2 record in district.

Other scores for the boys’ teams included the JV Green, who lost 24-82 and the JV White (freshmen), who lost 12-30. The JV Green team also lost to Millsap 24-59. The freshmen did not play.