Bulldogs split with Greybull and Thermop

With the season heading into the final stretch, the Lovell Bulldogs split a pair of road games last week, pounding the Greybull Buffalos 49-29 in Greybull Thursday, then falling to the Thermopolis Bobcats in Thermop on Saturday, 51-48. Both were non-conference games.

Coach Craig Lundberg said the Bulldogs had a sour taste in their mouth after losing an 11-point lead and falling to the Greybull Buffs 44-42 at home last month in the Big Horn Basin Classic. He said the team wanted to play well and did so.

“We tried to come up with a different mantra last week, to be relaxed but focused,” the coach said. “And after losing the game in Lovell, the boys wanted to prove they could play better than they did the last time. They came into the game locked in and ready to go.”

Indeed, the Lovell boys seemed fired up and relaxed as they pounded the hometown Buffs by 30. Lovell never trailed in the game and, in fact, shut out the Buffs 10-0 in the first quarter.

Tyler Nichols got the Bulldogs going with a baseline jumper, Aden Mayes powered inside for two buckets and Chance Abraham drained a three-pointer from the corner to finish the first.

“I was pleased with their effort and energy,” Lundberg said. “I couldn’t have asked them for a better effort. Defensively, we were kind of on a mission. I think they felt embarrassed a little bit (after the earlier loss to Greybull). They wanted to prove they could play better.”

Lovell continued to stymie the Greybull offense in the second quarter, and the Bulldogs didn’t allow a basket until more than 12 minutes into the game when Jesus Hernandez scored on a reverse layup. By then, Lovell had built an 18-2 lead, and the Bulldogs went on to lead 28-11 at halftime. Zeke Newman scored 7 points in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs put the game out of reach in the third quarter, outscoring the Buffs 8-4 to lead 36-15 after three as Lundberg emptied his bench, playing three freshmen and three sophomores extensively in the second half. The two teams traded baskets in the fourth quarter as Lovell went on to win by 20 points, 49-29.

“One of our goals is to get a few more guys on the floor so we have legs late in the game,” Lundberg said. “We played some different kids and gave a lot of kids minutes…A couple of kids got their first varsity basket, which was nice to see.”

Some young players will have to step into the shoes of senior Thomas Hinckley, who broke his leg in practice earlier in the week and will be lost for the season. The lone remaining senior is Hunter Harris.

Ten players scored for Lovell Thursday led by Aden Mayes, who scored 10 points. Zeke Newman added 9 points, Cason James 7.

• LOVELL (49)
• David Powell 1 0-0 2, Zeke Newman 4 0-0 9, Chance Abraham 2 0-0 5, CJ Pickett 0 2-3 2, Tyler Nichols 2 2-4 6, Aden Mayes 4 2-3 10, Hunter Harris 0 0-0 0, Cason James 3 1-3 7, Amos Monterde 0 0-0 0, Carter Lundberg 1 0-0 3, TJ Scheeler 0 0-0 0, Seth Harvey 0 1-2 1, Meyjl McArthur 1 2-2 4. Totals 18 10-17 49.
• GREYBULL (29)
• Gaven McColloch 0 1-2 1, Issac Thueson 2 1-2 6, Tyler Collingwood 0 0-0 0, Jesus Hernandez 3 1-5 7, Brandt Miller 0 0-0 0, Irving Castro 0 0-0 0, Elian Davila 2 2-2 7, Ben Kraft 2 3-4 8, Skylar Jackson 0 0-2 0. Totals 9 8-17 29.
• Lovell  10    18    8    13 – 49
• Greybull   0     11    4    14 – 29
• Three-point field goals – Newman 1, Abraham 1, Lundberg 1; Thueson 1, Davila 1, Kraft 1. Fouled out – none. Total fouls – Lovell 15, Greybull 15.

Loss at Thermop

Unlike the Thursday game, when they came out strong and jumped out to an early 10-0 lead, the Bulldogs didn’t play a strong first half Saturday in Thermopolis and fell behind. Thermop outscored the Bulldogs 17-10 in the first quarter and 17-13 in the second to lead 34-23 at halftime.

The Bulldogs roared back to outscore the home team 17-9 in the third, cutting the deficit to three points after three, 43-40, then took the lead late in the game before Thermopolis took the lead again and won by three, 51-48.

“It was a tale of two halves, for both teams,” Lundberg said. “In the first half (Hardy) Johnson was on fire (five three-pointers). He could not miss. We played zone and man (defenses), but they would still penetrate and kick to him, and he would just knock it down. The kids were getting a little bit frustrated. It felt like everything they (Thermop) threw up would drop.

“We told them to keep fighting and withstand the barrage thrown at us. Coaches told them you have a chance to win if you do that.”

Mayes led the third quarter comeback with 8 points, and Lundberg said the junior was “a rebounding machine,” adding, “He did a good job cleaning everything up on the offensive boards and he did a real good job of working hard and taking it to their big man, Mortimer.”

Lovell took a one-point lead with about two minutes left, Lundberg said, on a layup by CJ Pickett off a Lovell steal, but the Bobcats came right back with a trey by Sterling Gerber and went on to win by three.

“We had a couple of costly turnovers toward the end that hurt us,” Lundberg said. “We didn’t shoot free throws very well in the game (8-19), but neither did they (2-7, 1-5 in the fourth quarter).

“We had missed opportunities, honestly. We missed some bunnies in the first half and some layups in the fourth quarter.”

Trailing by three with Newman at the line for the second of two free-throw attempts (he had hit the first) in the waning seconds, coaches directed Newman to miss intentionally in an attempt to get the ball for a trey, but the ball didn’t bounce the way the Bulldogs wanted.

Pickett led the Bulldogs with 13 points, and Newman and Mayes joined him in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Conference games

The Bulldogs will return to the conference wars this weekend, traveling to Worland Friday night to a 7 p.m. tip-off, then hosting Lander Saturday at 5 p.m.

Lovell fell to Worland at home on Jan. 25, 55-26, and lost at Lander Jan. 21, 47-28. Worland (20-0) is the number one ranked team in Class 3A, and Lander (16-3) is second in the most recent WyoPreps.com poll.

“If you go back and watch our game against Worland, we were kind of a pain in their side the entire game, until they pulled away,” Lundberg said. “Their coach even said it was a lot closer game than the score reflected.

“If we take care of the ball, we’ll be fine. We’ll be in the game and have a chance to surprise -- in both games. Both of them are really good teams, but I feel we’re able, defensively, to limit what they want to do. If we take care of the basketball we’ll be in a good position.”

• LOVELL (48)
• Zeke Newman 2 6-8 12, Chance Abraham 1 0-0 3, CJ Pickett 5 0-1 13, Tyler Nichols 2 0-2 4, Aden Mayes 5 0-2 10, Hunter Harris 0 0-2 0, Cason James 2 2-4 6. Totals 17 8-19 48.
• THERMOP (51)
• Sterling Gerber 6 0-0 18, Jase Longwell 0 0-0 0, Duder Harvey 3 1-2 8, Hardy Johnson 5 0-0 15, Cade McLean 0 1-4 1, Oran Coyne 1 0-0 3, Jarron Mortimore 3 0-1 6. Totals 18 2-7 51.
• Lovell   10    13    17    8 – 48
• Thermop 17    17      9     8 – 51
• Three-point field goals – Pickett 3, Newman 2, Abraham 1; Gerber 6, Johnson 5, Harvey 1, Coyne 1. Fouled out – Johnson, Mortomore. Total fouls – Lovell 13, Thermop 18.

By David Peck