Dogie men claim their first win

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
The Dogie hoopsters started the season young and inexperienced, but as head coach Allen Von Eye has claimed, they have been steadily improving, and on Friday the squad claimed their first win of the season against the Torrington Trailblazers — a victory that was indeed sweet.
“We knew going into that game that it was a very winnable one,” Von Eye nodded. “They have some pretty good players and play a similar game to us in a lot of facets. We knew we were going to have to get off to a fast start and keep it up throughout and we’d have a pretty good shot at beating them.”
A fast start was definitely not how the Dogies began the contest, and they were held scoreless until the final 20 seconds of the first quarter. Fortunately, they executed well on the defensive end of the court and held the ‘Blazers to only six points through the first eight minutes of play. 
“It was an old fashioned slug fest during the first quarter, and no one could get shots to fall,” Von Eye chuckled. “It took us a little bit to swing the ball
and get them out of position so that we could attack, but we
did a really nice job defensively of limiting their shots and forcing them into some difficult situations.”
Senior Zach Purviance got his team started with that one basket, and from there the Dogies’ offensive game started rolling. By the time the two teams headed into the locker room for the halftime break, Newcastle held a 17-16 point lead over the ‘Blazers.
From there on the Dogies had the upper hand and pulled ahead to an 11-point lead in the third quarter. The ‘Blazers made a run down the stretch and fans were on the edges of their seats waiting to see if the home team could hang on for the win. Fortunately, the Dogies were able to zero in on the hoop from the free throw line in the second half to maintain their lead.
“We were 1-7 in the first half and 9-11 in the second,” Von Eye admitted. “We hit some big ones that were monumental at the end to keep us in the lead, and it was great to get our first win, so I was pretty happy.”
Purviance led his team with 15 points, and he was followed by Tate Engle with 10 and Landon Engle with eight. Aidan Chick added four points, Avery Chick chipped in two with Christian Santos and Gavin Gray each also contributing two points to the squad’s 43-35 win.
The Dogies started off last week with a tough go against the No. 1 ranked Worland Warriors at their house on Monday. Newcastle was able to battle with the Warriors throughout the first half, going into the locker room down only one point, however a couple of mistakes early in the second half cost the Dogies and they ended up dropping the contest 53-76.
“We knew going into it that we were going to see pressure from as good of a man-to-man defense and as good of athletes that we will see all year long,” Von Eye declared. “We knew we would need to be patient and we did a really good job of that in the first half.”
The Dogies were able to get good looks at the basket and played really well defensively, holding their big inside player to only eight points. The squad was also pretty solid on the boards in the first half, despite the athleticism disadvantage they had.
“We knew they’d come out with a fire under their tail in the second half because they have been just pounding people, and they are the number one team in the state for a reason,” Von Eye admitted. “Unfortunately, we came out and turned the ball over five times in a row to start the third quarter which the Warriors used to extend their lead.”
Worland outscored Newcastle 46-24 in the remaining two quarters of play, however Von Eye maintained that his team continued to battle and had the Warriors frustrated throughout the entire contest.
“I know the score doesn’t reflect it — and I’m not a big moral victory guy — but it’s all about the process, and each game is a step toward our ultimate goal,” Von Eye insisted. “I think we’ve taken several good steps to put us in a situation to grow and we are continuing to improve each and every game.”
Once again Purviance led the way, with 19 points, and was followed by Tate Engle with 11 and Landon Engle with eight. Aidan Chick put in seven points while Santos and Gray added five and three respectively. 
This week the Dogies have another long road trip as they travel to Rawlins on Saturday. According to Von Eye, the Outlaws are solid and athletic and that the venue is not an easy one to play in. 
“They are a hard one to play. Offensively, they are scrappy and athletic and attack. Defensively they will play incredibly hard and will apply at least half court pressure which they execute well,” he predicted. “It’s another opportunity for us to grow with the long trip and a good team like we had against Laramie and Worland to get ready for next week when we get into conference play.”