Charlie Barnes had 15 points in the Bears 63-54 win over Roosevelt in the first round of the Clovis Elks Classic tournament at Clovis High school on Dec. 27. (Michael Ford/Clovis Roundup)
The Buchanan Bears boys basketball squad entered the annual Clovis Elks Classic tournament a team in the midst of an up-and-down campaign. At 7-6, a good showing at the tournament could position the team for a strong league season.
Buchanan capitalized on the opportunity by defeating the Roosevelt High Rough Riders 63-54 in the quarterfinals. And for a while, it looked like the game would turn into a rout.
Buchanan raced out to 9-2 lead three minutes in, forcing turnovers to get in transition for layups.
An extended scoring drought from Roosevelt allowed the Bears to build up a 14-2.
A series of unforced miscues from Roosevelt allowed Buchanan to build up to what eventually became a 20-5 lead after one quarter and all the momentum on its side.
Roosevelt was able to cut the lead down to 20-11, however, with six straight points to open up the second with 5 minutes left in the half.
Charlie and Coby Barnes both knocked down threes for Buchanan with just over 3 minutes to go to bring the lead back to 28-14. The duo were instrumental in the Bears’ offense, combining for 32 points on the evening.
And on that offensive strength, the Bears held on to a 29-17 lead at the half.
Roosevelt picked up its defense from the first possession in the third quarter, leading to easy buckets and free throws that cut the Bears lead to 29-24.
The Roughriders continued on an extended 14-3 spurt to get themselves within one at 32-31 with half the quarter remaining.
Bears coach Brooks Malm said he knew that the Rough Riders wouldn’t stay dormant the entire game.
“We knew that they were going to come out and make a run,” Malm said. “We weren’t going to hold them to five points every single quarter. We knew there was going to be a run and it happened right off the bat.”
But two free throws throws by Barnes stopped the bleeding for the Bears, regaining a 3-point, 34-31 advantage.
Going into the fourth, Buchanan still held a 41-35 lead.
Roosevelt again brought the Bears’ lead to four on a three-pointer by #2, but a quick layup on the other end effectively negated the basket, each point being so crucial with 2 minutes left in the game and Buchanan up six.
Down by 10 with a minute left, Roosevelt was forced to foul and send the Bears to the free throw line, where they capitalized to put the game away.
Buchanan improves to 8-6 with their Saturday opponent being the winner of Sanger and El Capitan.