Bulldogs click in win over Cowboys

HAMPTON — Among games played recently for his Bulldogs, head coach Heath Walton rates this one against Clarion-Goldfield-Dows pretty high.

His team took a slim one-point lead into halftime and never trailed in a 77-61 victory over the Cowboys on Friday, Jan. 24.

“We said in the locker room, ‘we played a good game,’” Walton said. “The weird thing is, I don’t walk away and say, ‘we absolutely played out of our minds.’ We played really well, to be honest, I thought we played like the way we hoped we were capable of playing other times.

“So, it was a very rewarding game because we lost by 20-plus there. They moved the ball on us (then), we turned the ball over every possession. We had no rhythm there. I think the kids played really confident tonight, I’m really proud of the way we came out start to finish.”

Considering the rivalry, junior Jordan Severs, who led four Bulldogs in double figures with 25 points, said he and his teammates wanted this game badly.

“We went on a dry streak for a while,” Severs said. “We were pretty hungry for a win and we came out here with the intent to win.”

They opened it up to a double-digit lead in the third quarter after five straight points for Wyatt Sutter, who finished with 16, and the only three-pointer of the game for Mario De La Cruz, C-G-D then opted to start fouling, and that is where Carson Miller stepped up.

Miller was 8-of-11 from the free throw line, all in the second half, missing just his last three-of-four as coach Walton noted that he was pretty tired by that point.

“Carson Miller stepped up and made free throws,” Walton said, “and he doesn’t shoot a lot for us.”

Although they turned the ball over more than what Walton would have liked, it was still the best the Bulldogs have taken care of the ball this season. According to Walton, they committed 20 turnovers against the Cowboys.

“That’s still 20 turnovers,” Walton said. “I was hoping for 15 or under. We still turned it over 20 times, but we battled, I don’t know what we did for free throws, a little sketchy, we would have been a lot better had we hit those.

“I thought we had guys take care of the ball, we don’t have a guy who takes care of the ball for us, so they did a good job.”

The Cowboys did make a run at the Bulldogs, thanks in part to forcing those turnovers to get within five at 54-49, but a pair of Miller free throws and then back-to-back baskets by Severs re-built the lead to 65-51.

The two teams traded three-point baskets and then took over from the free throw line.

“I think we turned the ball over, but we didn’t let it affect us,” Severs said. “I think we put it to the back of our heads and went on to the next play and tried not to let it get us down.”

The difference from the last time the two teams played, Severs said, was how the team prepared and how they felt with that preparation.

“The confidence level,” Severs said. “(Thursday) at practice, the entire practice, we were just practicing full-court press, getting comfortable with it, getting used to it and we were also practicing pull-up shots because we also knew we were going to have to make our shots at a fast pace. So, our confidence was a lot better than the last time we played them.”

Jace Spurgeon, who had 10 points by halftime and finished with 14 had a particularly good start.

“He played very well,” Walton said of Spurgeon, “he played confidently, really felt like he was trying to get into a comfort zone.”

It was the most points the Bulldogs have scored in a victory since Feb. 16, 2015 when they topped Waterloo Columbus 90-66 in a district game.

“We played hard to finish,” said Walton. “I don’t think we played hard to start. There was a stretch there where I thought, ‘oh boy, let’s stay strong’ and I think we did. I was very proud of them.”

Bulldogs 77, Clarion-Goldfield-Dows 61

Clarion-Goldfield (7-7, 3-5) – Christian Gaytan 3 1-4 7, Mateo Martinez 4 6-9 14, Coady Olson 3 0-2 10, Jaxon Carpenter 4 0-0 10, Aiden Harrington 2 3-6 5, Devin Morales 0 0-0 0, Gavin Wilson 0 0-0 0, Cael Chase 0 0-0 0, Connor State 3 3-6 9, Kaden Bricker 0 0-0 0, Neven Foss 3 0-0 6. Totals 22 13-27 61.

Bulldogs (3-8, 1-7)– Jace Spurgeon 3-8 3-4 11, Drew Uhlenhopp 2-7 2-4 6, Wyatt Sutter 3-6 1-2 9, Benji Sauke 3-3 0-0 8, Carson Miller 0-1 2-2 2, Mario De La Cruz 2-5 1-1 5, Riley Heeren 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Severs 3-7 1-2 7, Colin Hill 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 16-37 11-17 49.

CGD           14   17   10   20      -   61

Bulldogs    15   17   22   23      -   77

Three-point goals – CGD 4 (Olson 2, Carpenter 2); H-D 8-14 (Spurgeon 3-5, Sutter 2-3, Sauke 1-2, De La Cruz 1-2, Severs 1-2).Rebounds– CGD, NA H-D 28, 7 off. 21 def. (Miller 8, Sutter 6, Uhlenhopp 5, Severs 5, De La Cruz 2, Spurgeon, Hill).Assists– CGD, NA; H-D 13 (De La Cruz 5, Sutter 3, Miller 2, Spurgeon, Sauke, Severs). Steals– CGD, NA; H-D 13 (Miller 4, De La Cruz 3, Spurgeon 2, Sutter 2, Uhlenhopp, Sauke). Blocks– CGD, NA; H-D 5 (Sutter 2, Severs 2, Hill). Total fouls– CGD, NA, H-D 20. Fouled out – CGD (Olson); H-D, None.