Chadron snaps Dogies’ streak

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
A week of weather related cancellation of practices combined with the onset of illness resulted in the Dogies being a little unprepared to go up against the Chadron Cardinals last Saturday in Nebraska. 
The Nebraska squad, however, went into the contest determined to turn around a four-game losing streak as they head into sub-regional play, and the combination of those two factors didn’t play out well for Newcastle. When all was said and done, the Dogies were handed their first loss in three weeks as they dropped the game 53-65.
“We got ourselves in a bit of a hole and we just couldn’t dig our way out of it,” sighed head coach Allen Von Eye. “We struggled to score while they shot the ball really well. We got a little intimidated by their big man early — I’m not exactly sure why — and we allowed him to take us out of our game.”
To start, the 6-foot, 10-inch post was tasked with guarding Dylon Tidyman, and he was giving the Dogies’ second leading scorer about a six foot cushion. Ordinarily, Tidyman would take full advantage of such lackadaisical defense, but he seemed hesitant to do so initially.
“The kid’s size was definitely making Dylon hold back, but we finally got him convinced to take him to the rack,” Von Eye explained. “He blew by him twice for layups which made them switch up that matchup. He’s a legitimate player for sure, but he can’t keep up with us. We allowed ourselves to be taken out of the things we always do which make us successful.”
While Chadron’s big man was giving the Dogies fits on offense, the rest of the team was shooting very well on their end of the court.
“Part of them shooting the ball so well was by our own design,” Von Eye admitted. “We didn’t defend the
perimeter like we have been, and we gave them some open looks which  they knocked down. That got the crowd riled up and tipped momentum their way.”
The Dogies got down by six points in the first quarter, then played the Cardinals even in the second and third frames, only to be outscored by six once again in the fourth quarter. Newcastle made several runs throughout the contest to pull within two, but Chadron always had an answer to frustrate the Dogies and maintain their command of the game.
Defensively the outsized Dogies played well in the interior, handling the post by taking him out of his comfort zone and holding him to only three buckets.
“I thought both Sawyer [Roberson] and Peyton [Tystad] did a phenomenal job defending him, putting their hands up and being physical with him,” Von Eye nodded. “He was extremely frustrated through the ball game because we didn’t let him get a lot of the looks he likes to get, and we ran some really good double teams on him.”
While it is true that defense can win ball games, without an offense, it’s just not going to happen. Unfortunately, Newcastle had some uncharacteristic misses on bunnies and on spot up threes that gave Chadron the edge they needed to stay on top.
“It wasn’t our finest performance,” Von Eye admitted. “Nobody wants to come out and not play their best, and nobody wants to lose, but it did give us a measuring stick and a reality check as we head into the final stretch of the season.” 
The reality check Von Eye referred to was that even though his team was on a four-game winning streak, any backing off by his players can and did result in a loss. Given only two weeks remain in the regular season with some pivotal quadrant games on the line, this loss should serve as a reminder that the team needs to stay focused on the task at hand.
“We have to remember that we need to stay with it every single day, and that we’re getting ourselves better,” he said. “It matters a lot that we continue growing and progressing to reach our peak, and to make sure we haven’t peaked early so this was a good opportunity for our guys to be reminded.”
Despite being what Von Eye described as “sick as a dog,” Cade Ostenson played a very solid game and filling up every column on the stat sheet. Though he did miss a couple of shots that he usually knocks down because his legs just weren’t there, he led his team with 19 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals, one block and took one charge. Tidyman was also a work horse for the Dogies putting up 16 points, three rebounds, one assist, four steals and two blocks. 
Dylan Talley added six points, Isaiah Brooks had five, Roberson contributed four points while Tystad finished things off with one.
“I thought Isaiah played one of his more solid games across the board until he got banged up late,” Von Eye stated. “Dylon did some really great things for us defensively, and Sawyer and Peyton defended the big so well. It was just a tough matchup for us after a tough week, so we will just learn from it and move forward.”
The Dogies have two big quadrant rematches this weekend. The Thermopolis Bobcats come to town on Friday, and then they will hit the road to Buffalo to take on the top-ranked Bison on Saturday.
Though Newcastle got the better of the Bobcats in their previous matchup, Von Eye admitted that it wasn’t easy and he doesn’t expect it to be this time either. 
“We escaped with one up there without Dylon, and they did some really good things to muddy the basketball game,” he began. “This will not be a high scoring contest, and we will not be able to get up and down the court like we want to. It will be very similar to the speed of the Wheatland game where they will try to slow things down and take the air out of the ball as much as possible as that gives them the best opportunity to win.”
The last time the Dogies and the Bison went head-to-head, it was also without Tidyman and though it ended in a loss for Newcastle, the squad battled and were in it for most of the game. Von Eye knows it is a big undertaking to face them on their home court, but stated that he is eager to see how his team measures up at full strength.