The Bandera Bulldogs trekked to Somerset to play their counterpart the Bulldogs only to lose 74-47 in a lopsided game.  “We came out scared,” senior Dustin Lindner said. “We weren’t ready to play and we weren’t prepared mentally.”

            “Somerset is the best team we played so far,” head coach Brett Morris said. “Most of their players are back from a last year’s regional finalist team.”

            The Bulldogs were shut down from the tip off as Somerset’s two headed monster Demetrio Zepeda and Jacob Hillyer combined for 21 of the team’s 25 first period points. On the Bandera side senior Jeff Jensen led with 4 points while the rest of the team struggled combining for a mere 3 making the first period score 25-7 Somerset.

            “We played really nervous in the first half and missed opportunities to stay close,” Morris said. As both the Bulldogs headed to the locker room, the Somerset blue and white was up 41-15.

            The hometown blue and white came out firing on all cylinders in the second half with seniors Lindner, Cale Neff and Jensen combining for 10 of the Bulldogs 16 third period points, but the Somerset offensive attack was just too intimidating as they scored 18 points in the period widening their lead to 59-31. Junior Julian Garcia added five in the period

            “The second half we played much better,” Morris said. “We should be better because of the experience.”

            In the fourth, it was all Bandera as senior Neal Hodges, Gabe O’Dell, and Jensen combined for 16 points in the period. Although they outscored Somerset 16-15 Somerset’s earlier lead was a hole that Lebron James couldn’t dig out of and made the final score a symmetrical 74-47 Somerset.

            “It was a good game for us though because now we know where we stand against top 3A competition,” Lindner said. “We know we have to pick it up.”

            Over the Christmas break, the Bulldogs will compete in the Kerrville Tournament on the 28^th and 29^th and then open district play on the 31^st with an away game at Canyon Lake.