Bellevue
The Bellevue Eagles had a tough week playing two of the top teams in the district at home in Forestburg and Saint Jo, but were able to end it with a bang.
The Eagles lost to the first place Longhorns 64-49 before beating the Panthers 58-56 on a buzzer-beater from Aaron Allison.
Bellevue entered last week sitting in fourth place in the district standings. The Eagles had let a prime opportunity to beat Forestburg the first time around, going up by double-digits in the third quarter and having a hot shooting game. The Longhorns had rallied to win by double-digits and had beaten every other team in district since then to sit in first place.
Playing on Jan. 28, Bellevue allowed Forestburg to come out hot, going up 26-10 in the first quarter. The Eagles spent the rest of the game trying to climb out of the big hole they found themselves in.
While Bellevue cooled off the Longhorn offense in the final three quarters, the Eagles were never able to make up much ground. The two teams played nearly even basketball for the rest of the game as Forestburg won 64-49.
Ryan Jones led the team with 16 points while Allison was second with 14 points and Brycen Bancroft scored 10 points.
The loss was disappointing, but the Eagles had a chance to try and get a little redemption on Friday playing a Saint Jo team that was only one game ahead in the district standings.
The first time around, the Panthers frustrated Bellevue with their physical play and seemed to get in their heads which allowed Saint Jo to win by double-digits.
On Friday, the teams battled from beginning to end. Both teams had to play around key players getting into foul trouble throughout the game as the game was called tight.
Bellevue led 13-12 after the first quarter and 25-23 at halftime. Saint Jo then grabbed the lead 40-38 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Eagles had to play the majority of the game with their tallest post player Bancroft in foul trouble and playing with a disadvantage in the post.
The Panthers were able to get a quick seven point lead to start the final period and led by six 54-48 with less than two minutes left in the game.
A Jones 3-pointer cut the lead down to one basket 54-51, but Saint Jo answered with a basket to make it 56-51.
Bellevue then had Bancroft earn a free throw attempt that fouled out the Panthers top post player. Bancroft made both clutch free throws to cut the lead to 56-53 with 21 seconds left.
After getting the ball back, Bancroft again was fouled and sent to the free throw line with six seconds left to play. He again made both to cut the lead to one point 56-55.
Saint Jo threw the ball away out of bounds, giving Bellevue the ball back near the basket.
Initially the Eagles’ Allison drove to the basket and had a good chance at a layup, but missed and it was deflected out of bounds underneath the basket. It was still Bellevue’s ball and with 1.44 seconds left.
The ball found Allison again who caught it just beyond the 3-point line. He fired it up in one motion and was knocked to the ground as he came down. The ball went in and the home crowd erupted.
The Eagles won 58-56.
Allison finished the game with a team high 22 points while Jones was second with 15 points.

Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers almost had a great week, but a buzzer-beater loss on Friday at Bellevue meant the team finished 1-1.
The Panthers were able to win big against Gold-Burg 77-34 before losing at the buzzer at Bellevue 58-56.
Saint Jo entered last week sitting in third place in the district standings, having only lost to Forestburg and Midway in the first round.
The Panthers had beaten the Bears the first time around in district and on Jan. 28 it was not much different.
Saint Jo started the game strong, going up 21-5 in the first quarter. The Panthers never really slowed down until the fourth quarter when the defense lost some of their edge and allowed almost half of Gold-Burg’s points to come.
Still, it was not much to worry about as Saint Jo won 77-34.
Trent Gaston led the team with 30 points while Lee Yeley was second with 14 points.
The Panthers then traveled to Bellevue on Friday. The first game saw Saint Jo’s physical defense frustrate and get in the heads of the Eagles as the Panthers won easily by double-digits.
This game was different from the start.
Within two minutes, Saint Jo’s usual leading scorer Barrett Johnson had to sit after he had picked up two quick fouls. This became a theme as both teams had to play around various players dealing with foul trouble since the game was called tight.
The Panthers hung tough, but trailed narrowly 13-12 in the first quarter and 25-23 at halftime. Saint Jo was mostly scoring through its front line since Gaston and Yeley had avoided foul trouble in the first half.
Johnson came out ready to make up for lost time in the second half. He scored eight of the team’s 17 points as the Panthers took a narrow 40-38 lead into the fourth quarter.
In the opening minutes of the final period, Johnson seemed to have heat check, hitting multiple shots as he helped Saint Jo open up a 52-41 lead at one point nearly midway through the quarter.
Unfortunately, the Panthers saw Bellevue start to catch fire. Also, while Gaston had avoided foul trouble in the first half, he eventually fouled out late in the game which meant Saint Jo lost its advantage at the rim on both offense and defense.
The Eagles kept making plays and made four clutch free throws to cut the lead to one point 56-55 with six seconds left.
The Panthers committed a crucial turnover in their own back court to give Bellevue back the ball. The Eagles took advantage of Gaston’s absence by driving the lane, but missed a layup. Unfortunately, the rebound bounced off a Saint Jo player out of bounds underneath the basket.
Bellevue had one more chance with a little more than a second left to play. The Panther defender contested the catch and shoot 3-point shot at the buzzer well, but it went in.
Saint Jo lost 58-56.
Johson and Gaston each had 18 points to lead the team while Yeley was second with 12 points.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.

For more pictures from Bellevue’s game against Saint Jo, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6872793&T=1