Bulldog Boys Basketball Get Rivalry Win Over West Fork

To say the North Central Conference is tough in boys basketball might be an understatement.  With two teams ranked in the top 10 by the Iowa High School Athletic Association and a third that is on the fringe, plus the rest of the teams that play a tough central Iowa brand of basketball, there are no nights off in the NCC.  The Bulldogs have battled through the first half of their conference schedule and through the adversity have become a better team.  Interested to see what happens in the second half of the NCC season.

On Tuesday, the Hampton-Dumont-CAL Bulldogs hosted the Algona Bulldogs.  It was a back and forth game in the first half as neither team could pull away from the other, but Algona halftime saw Algona leading 35-31.  Algona expanded that lead in the third quarter and ultimately pulled away in the fourth to earn a 68-50 win.  H-D-CAL was led in scoring again by Scott Harr with 24 points and 15 rebounds.  Brody Walton would chip in with 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 steals.

Friday night the Bulldogs headed to Clear Lake to face off with the Lions in the North Central Conferences night of Coaches versus Cancer.  The third ranked Lions would prove to be a daunting task for the Bulldogs.  The first quarter was tight, but the Lions defense would lock down the Bulldogs in the second quarter and hold them to six points.  At the half the Lions led 41-21.  The second half would be much of the same and the Lions would be victorious by a score of 79-46.  Harr again led the Bulldogs in points with 21 and 12 rebounds.  Another double-double for the Bulldog big man, and  Gavin Meader added 12 points in the Bulldog effort. For Coaches vs cancer night the Bulldog and Lion players, coaches, and fans shared a moment to honor those in their fight against cancer, and came together to raise over $17,000 for cancer research. The NCC losses dropped the Bulldogs conference record to 2-5 and 3-8 overall.

Saturday would see the Bulldogs playing in another Coaches versus Cancer game.  This time their annual matchup was with the West Fork Warhawks.  The Bulldogs would start the game off strong against a non-conference opponent and the boys took a commanding 29-16 lead into the locker room.  They would never give that lead up and took 61-49 victory on the back of some aggressive defense and productive offense.  Harr would lead the Bulldogs with 22 points and 8 rebounds, with Will Sackville adding 16 points and 6 rebounds.  The win would improve the Bulldogs record to 4-8 on the season.

H-D-CAL returns to action Tuesday night to kick off the second half of their NCC season with a rivalry game against the Iowa Falls-Alden Cadets.  Varsity tip-off is at 7:45.  Friday they travel to Humboldt for a game with the conference leading Wildcats.