Bulldogs sweep Southwest foes

With cold, snow and high winds making South Pass dicey, the Lovell Bulldogs played a split schedule this week, traveling to Lander twice in four days to play different opponents.

The scheduled games Friday in Pinedale were postponed due to the conditions and rescheduled for Tuesday evening in Lander, with Lovell and Pinedale meeting halfway.

Saturday, the Bulldogs traveled to Lander to meet the Tigers and crushed the fourth-ranked Tigers 76-52.

It was the first game back for junior center Owen Walker, who had taken a fall in the game at Powell on January 30 and missed the game at Thermopolis on February 1. It took Walker a while to get going, but he scored 13 points after a scoreless first quarter.

“Owen was still a little tentative, but he had some nice moves,” head coach Shane Durtsche said. “It might take him a game or two, because it was a bad spill.

“The team played well. We set the tone with defense – just the energy. We were on the ball making things difficult. Lander is a solid basketball team, so for us to jump on them like that and put them away in the third quarter was great to see. Lander is a very scary team in the region.”

Starting point guard Jace Nicholls wasn’t feeling well, and though he played good defense and rebounded well, he was off his offensive game, Durtsche said. No problem. Instant Offense Robert Romero came off the bench and hit five three-pointers in the first quarter to propel the Bulldogs to a 25-16 lead after one.

“Robert was huge,” Durtsche said. “He was five for five from three-point range in the first quarter. He didn’t miss one. You could see that it took the air out of their sails. They were up early, but he came in and was a huge spark for us. He has really embraced the sixth-man role.”

After Romero did his damage, Matthew Newman, Owen Edwards, Walker, Kaeson Anderson and Davin Crosby each scored in the second quarter as Lovell outscored Lander 20-15 to lead 45-31 at halftime.

The Bulldogs cemented the win by clamping down on defense in the third quarter and outscoring Lander 19-4 to lead 64-35 at the end of three on their way to the 76-52 win.

“We’ve had some good third quarters,” Durtsche said. “They got two points early, and the rest of the way it was 19-2. That was just deflating (to Lander). We turned it up a notch. Matthew (Newman) got out in traffic, and that got us going, but it started on the defensive side. We put the clamps down.”

Romero finished with 17 points to lead the Bulldogs, and Newman added 16, Crosby 15 and Walker 13.

“Davin was very solid finishing around the rim,” Durtsche noted.

Edwards scored 8 points and played his best varsity minutes of the season at both ends of the court, the coach added. Nicholls scored 3 points, Anderson and Kyle Wilson 2 points each, and Durtsche said Anderson did a great job on Lander’s top guard, Bell.

“He didn’t take a lot of shots,” Durtsche said of Anderson. “He managed the offense and has the ability to do what we need to do to win.”

Walker led the team with eight rebounds, and Nicholls pulled down seven rebounds, Wilson five. Nicholls had seven assists, Anderson six.

Durtsche said the win was important as a West Region win under the new format where teams will be seeded one through eight rather than by quadrant.

Pinedale

Tuesday in Lander, the Bulldogs ripped the Wranglers 68-35. The Bulldogs didn’t get off the bus well and trailed 14-12 after the first quarter, but they outscored Pinedale 19-11 in the second quarter to lead 31-25 at halftime, then put the game out of reach by clobbering the Wranglers in the third, 23-8, to lead 54-33. Lovell also won the fourth, 14-2, to win by 33 points.

Anderson led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points, and Newman and Crosby added 12 points each, Walker 10, Wilson 9, Nicholls 8 and Romero 2.

“We were a little sluggish to start the game and not communicating very well defensively,” Durtsche said. “Pinedale shot the ball very well in the first half. We turned it up in the second half defensively and did a much better job with our defensive rotations.

“Offensively, we settled for three-pointers without attacking in the first half, but we worked the ball around and attacked the paint/rim much better in the second half, and that’s when we’re at our best. Our defense also created transition opportunities in the second half.”

Durtsche said the Bulldogs trailed 25-23 in the second quarter and went on a 41-8 run before he emptied the bench.

Conference games

This weekend the Bulldogs (16-1) will travel to Cody Friday to meet the second-ranked Broncs in a one vs. two showdown, then host improving Worland Saturday.

Durtsche said Cody (12-4) will present a huge challenge to the Bulldogs, especially in their home gym.

“They’ve been good. They have no conference losses except to us, and they dominated Lyman and Mountain View on the road this weekend,” Durtsche said. “They’re solid. We know what that game is. It’s a big game, a big conference game on the road. And the kids know it.”

Lovell edged Cody at home, 38-33, on January 14 in the first conference game of the year.

“They’re a very good basketball team on their floor,” Durtsche said. “That will be a tough test.”

Tip-off times in Cody are 4 (JV) and 7 p.m.

Saturday, the Bulldogs host Worland at 2 (JV) and 5 p.m. Lovell topped the Warriors 49-31 at the Big Horn Basin Classic on January 18 and 57-35 in Worland for a conference win on January 23. But Durtsche said Worland (8-7) has been playing much better basketball of late, beating Lander 53-51 over the weekend.

“Worland is always going to be well prepared,” Durtsche said. “That is a scary team, especially with us coming off the Cody game, and they’re on a roll. They’re peaking and getting better.”