Dateline: January 6, 2005

Greenbelt Classic attracts 32 area teams

By Sandy Anderberg

Thirty-two boys and girls teams competed in the second annual Greenbelt Classic Basketball Tournament held at the Bronco Gym and the Clarendon College Bulldog Gym December 28-30. 

The Panhandle Panthers took the boys’ championship, and the ladies from Vega walked away with the girls’ top spot. 

Three teams from Clarendon participated in the tournament with the Broncos finishing the best, taking second place, and the Lady Broncos completing the tournament in fourth place.

The Broncos faced Adrian in the first round and defeated them 97-28. 

“We played hard and well against a struggling Adrian team and scored a season high 97 points,” Coach Wade Callaway said. “A testament to our teamwork is that all 12 Broncos scored.” 

The Broncos played Grady, New Mex., in the second round; and despite a slow start, they finished strong and got the 62-51 win. 

“We came out sluggish against a much better Grady team,” Callaway said.  “We finished well and won by double digits.”

The Broncos then took on a strong Highland Park team in the semi-finals and got the 56-41 win over the Hornets. 

“We came out very strong,” Callaway said.  “However, we stumbled a bit in the second quarter and kept it close.  Again, in the second half we came out and put it away; and for the second time in the tournament, all 12 of the Broncos made it in the scoring column.” 

That win, over the Hornets, put the Broncos in the championship round against a tough 2A Panhandle team, who were named tournament champs with the 59-62 win over the Broncos. 

“We were down after the first quarter, but we played some of our best basketball of the year in the second quarter to take a 12-point lead into the locker room,” Callaway said. 

“I thought we played hard, but we just couldn’t hit some of our wide-open three-point shots (we were 0-9).  If we had shot badly (instead of horribly) from behind the arc, we would have won. 

“Even so, it was a great tournament; and it did for us what we wanted: got us ready for district.” 

Leading the scoring were Chase Thornberry 12 and Steven Ballard 12.

“Overall I thought we had a really good tournament,” Callaway said.  “For starters, I was proud of the way our Junior Varsity team responded after finding out the day before the tournament that they would be in it because a team dropped out on Monday.  All of them showed up and, for the most part, battled hard against varsity teams. 

“I appreciate all the people who had a hand in making our tournament a success.  We open district on Friday, the 7th at Wellington.  It will be a tough game, so we encourage all our Bronco fans to make it.”

On the ladies’ side of the tournament, the Lady Broncos drew Adrian in the first round, dominating their opponent 64-22.  They took on Hedley in the next round for the third time this year and defeated them 52-42 to advance into the next round.   The Lady Broncos didn’t fair well in that round as they went up against the eventual tournament winner, Vega, and were defeated 32-53. 

They then faced Panhandle in the next round for third place and fell short by six at 51-57. 

“The girls played hard,” Coach Steve Myatt said.  “We have some things to work on before district starts, but I feel sure we’ll be ready.  I also appreciate all of those who worked so hard to make our tournament a success.”

Both the Broncos and the Lady Broncos will begin district play Friday, January 7, at Wellington beginning at 6:30 p.m.  They will travel to Shamrock January 11.