Classic Repeat: Lovell Bulldogs edge Douglas to win second straight state title

They did it again. And it wasn’t easy – far from easy.

The Lovell Bulldogs defended their Class 3A state championship Saturday afternoon at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper with a 57-54 win over a determined Douglas Bearcat squad.

A true classic, the game featured 11 ties and 11 lead changes as the two foes traded blows like a pair of heavyweight boxers. No lead was safe, no run unanswered until the very end when the Bulldogs scored the final three points of the game.

The veteran Lovell team featuring seven seniors including four starters came into the game with dominant wins over Buffalo, 80-57, and Torrington, 81-33, while Douglas, with five seniors including four starters, had crushed Worland 66-36 but had a battle against Wheatland in the semifinals before winning 42-34.

But Saturday was a new day, and the Bulldogs simply couldn’t pull away from a dogged Douglas squad that featured four players scoring in double figures led by junior Kaden Capp and seniors Collin Roberts and Donnie Taylor on the wing and 6-7 senior center Colton Peterson working inside.

Tight game

The Bulldogs were cold early as Douglas took an early 5-0 lead on a three-pointer by Taylor and a follow shot by Peterson. Kaeson Anderson finally broke the ice for Lovell more than three minutes into the game with a three-pointer, but Roberts answered the trey as Douglas led 8-3.

Lovell finally heated up with back-to-back treys by Anderson and Owen Edwards to lead for the first time, 9-8, but Capp drained a three-pointer to put Douglas back on top, 11-9. The game was then tied at 11 and 14 before a drive by Capp gave Douglas the edge after one, 16-14.

Douglas went up 19-14 early in the second quarter as Capp hit from downtown, but a slash by Anderson and a trey by the junior on a pass from Brody Muller knotted the score 19-19. The game was then tied at 21 and 23 before a trey by Matthew Newman tied the score 26-26 at halftime.

“Wow, what a game,” Coach Shane Durtsche said. “We knew Douglas would give us their absolute best shot, and they did. Again, we wanted to play inside out and utilize our size to both get shots inside and create open looks from the outside. Kaeson came out on fire and kept us afloat early. Edwards hit an early three, as well. Our offense wasn’t flowing very well early, but we hit some big threes.

“They were beating us to loose balls and killing us on the boards in the first half. They outrebounded us 23-10 in the half, and Owen Walker had only scored 2 points, yet we were tied at halftime. We talked about rebounding (in the locker room) and also getting Owen (Walker) the ball inside.”

With Edwards picking up his third and then fourth fouls and Douglas putting defensive emphasis on Anderson, the Lovell dynamic duo of Walker and Newman went to work in the third quarter. After Douglas took a 30-28 lead, back-to-back flying fast-break buckets by Newman ignited a 13-2 run as Lovell took a 41-32 lead and appeared to have taken over the game. With the game tied at 32, Kyle Wilson hit Walker inside for two, and Walker converted a Newman steal into a three-point play with a fast-break drive and free throw. Newman then hit Walker for two on the break, giving Lovell the nine-point margin.

Lovell went cold over the final two minutes of the third as Douglas outscored the Bulldogs 7-2 to trim the margin to four at the end of the quarter, 43-39.

“Owen (Walker) had a big third quarter, and we had a spurt and pulled away to a nine-point lead, but to their credit they came right back at us. Kudos to them. I knew they wouldn’t just go away.”

Down to the wire

The fourth quarter featured an exchange of daggers as both teams fought for the win. Douglas took a 44-43 lead on a trey by Taylor in transition, but Newman calmly drilled an answering three of his own to put Lovell up 46-44. Taylor answered Newman from beyond the arc, but Walker slashed for two on a feed from Wilson, and Lovell led 48-47.

Lovell led 50-49 after each team hit two free throws, but Douglas took a 51-50 lead when Roberts split the Lovell defense for two. Lovell responded with a baby hook shot by Walker to lead 52-51, and Douglas tied the score at 52 when Roberts hit one of two at the line with 3:16 to play.

A steal by Edwards led to a dish from Newman to Wilson for two inside, but an offensive rebound and foul allowed Roberts to tie the score 54-54 with two foul shots at the 1:24 mark.

Lovell worked clock for a full minute before a dramatic drive and bank by Newman gave Lovell a 56-54 lead with 25 seconds to play. Douglas called time out, and Roberts missed a trey with 10 seconds left. Anderson snared the rebound and was fouled, but Douglas wasn’t in the bonus.

The Bulldogs threw the ball in to Walker, who was flattened with no call, but he held onto the ball as he hit the floor, leading to a scrum. The tie-up went to Lovell, and Douglas had to foul twice more to send Lovell to the line, the second foul attempt poking Edwards in the eye.

With eyes watering, the senior missed the first free throw but calmly sank the second, putting Lovell up 57-54 with four seconds to play. Douglas called time out, and Capp appeared to stumble or slip on a last-second trey attempt, which missed, giving Lovell the win and the school’s 11th state boys championship.

“Our kids responded time and time again when we needed it the most,” Durtsche said. “Matthew Newman was clutch and hit a big three down two points to give a lead right back. We hit big shots and made plays when we needed it.”

It was a gritty performance for the Bulldogs, who were outrebounded 32-19 and who went to the foul line just seven times (hitting five) compared to 16 times for Douglas (hitting 11). Lovell shot 48 percent from the field, Douglas 44 percent, and Douglas hit seven treys on 19 attempts (37 percent), Lovell six treys on 13 attempts (46 percent). Lovell had just four turnovers in the game and got the running game going, scoring 18 points off 13 Douglas turnovers.

Walker finished with 17 points to lead the Bulldogs, and Newman added 16 points, Anderson 13. Edwards scored 6, Sam Mayes 3 and Wilson 2. Newman tallied four assists and four steals, Anderson three assists. Wilson grabbed five rebounds, Edwards four and Walker three.

“I couldn’t be more proud of this team. They refused to lose even when a few things didn’t go our way,” Durtsche said. “They played like champions. They have come so far as a group and showed a toughness that I don’t think they had earlier this year.

“This group grew up right before our eyes and absolutely gutted it out. They were not going to be denied that repeat. Newman’s shot gave us the lead (at the end) --  a tough shot and so clutch.”

The win gave the Bulldogs a final season record of 26-2, giving the team a two-year record of 52-4. Saturday’s game was the final contest for seniors Newman, Edwards, Walker, Muller, Wilson, Jaxen Clark and Cash Wassmer.

DOUGLAS (54)

Tristen Rinn 0 0-0 0, Colton Peterson 5 2-3 12, Braxton Spence 0 0-0 0, Landon Martinez 0 0-0 0, Kaden Capp 3 3-4 11, Carsten Moore 0 0-0 0, Collin Roberts 5 6-9 17, Witten Meeks 0 0-0 0, Donnie Taylor 5 0-0 14. Totals 18 11-16 54.

LOVELL (57)

Matthew Newman 7 0-0 16, Owen Edwards 1 3-4 6, Owen Walker 8 1-2 17, Kaeson Anderson 5 0-0 13, Sam Mayes 1 1-1 3, Brody Muller 0 0-0 0, Kyle Wilson 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 5-7 57.

Douglas 16    10    13   15 – 54

Lovell   14    12    17    14 – 57

Three-point field goals – Taylor 4, Capp 2, Roberts 1; Anderson 3, Newman 2, Edwards 1. Fouled out – none. Total fouls – Douglas 11, Lovell 15.