Dogie men close out regular season

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
Douglas and Wheatland were on hand last Friday and Saturday to finish up the regular season with the Dogies. The outcome of the contests had no impact on Regional seedings, however, head coach Allen Von Eye wanted his team to use the opportunity to tighten up their game for the tournament which begins this Thursday.
In addition, Newcastle will be facing off first against Wheatland and have Douglas on their side of the bracket, so both games were a bit of a practice run for the post-season tournament. 
“We just wanted to come out and see what Wheatland was going to do against us, because we had an idea they would be our first game on Thursday this weekend, Von Eye explained. “And we wanted to clean up our game against Douglas because we may be seeing them on Friday.”
Unfortunately, the Dogies struggled to score and their defensive game was uncharacteristically tenuous on Friday.
“Douglas is playing pretty solid basketball right now, and we didn’t play very well defensively from start to finish,” Von Eye sighed. “We didn’t guard the bounce very well at all which is unusual for us, because though we have struggled offensively this season, our defense has always been solid.”
The contest came down to the numbers. Both teams combined for 60 turnovers and 34 of those were Dogies’. The Bearcats also took 18 shots more than Newcastle did, and it’s tough to win a game with those numbers.
“We stressed all week long about moving the ball, and playing inside out, but we settled way too much from the perimeter. When you shoot 20% as a team from beyond the arc, that isn’t going to work,” Von Eye stated. “We didn’t come out very solid in the third quarter and that doesn’t work at this level, especially when we weren’t playing our usual defense.”
A bright spot on the evening was the performance by junior Landon Engle who came into the contest from the bench and provided a much needed offensive spark for his team. 
“Landon has shown some good things in spurts on the offensive end of the court,” Von Eye nodded. “We put him in to score and he was confident and did exactly that. We needed a spark and he provided that for us.” 
Engle took his job seriously getting into the paint, and had some good 13-, 14-footers which came after a hard penetration to the rack. He also had three steals which allowed him to score in transition. 
“We got huge energy minutes from Landon which was really important,” Von Eye stressed. “It was great to get another offensive threat on the floor, which is really what we need right now.”
The Dogies ended up behind 39-63 as time ticked away. Dylon Tidyman led his team with 18 points, Engle put up 12, Zach Purviance had 5, Slade Roberson contributed two and Peyton Tystad and Cooper Deveraux each added one point each.
Saturday’s contest against Wheatland was strategic on both coaches’ parts as each was preparing for their important matchup to start the Regional tournament on Thursday.
“We talked to the guys about responding and coming out against Wheatland, doing the things we needed to do,” Von Eye began. “We tried a couple of things, and I thought we did a pretty solid job for the most part. They did get a couple of open looks on the perimeter which they didn’t down there last month, but offensively, we did some good things from time to time.”
The Dogies battled with the Bulldogs in the first two quarters and went into the locker room down 19-21 at the half. However, a tough third quarter allowed Wheatland to build a lead that Newcastle just couldn’t overcome as time ran out, so they dropped the contest 37-55.
“Our passing was atrocious in the third quarter and turnovers were far too many through the whole game,” Von Eye frowned. “We also gave up some key offensive boards through three quarters. We’d force them into some tough shots, but then they’d get another opportunity which we just can’t do if we want to win.”
Tidyman led his team with a double double, scoring 17 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. Purviance was next with five points, Bradyn Frye added four points late in the contest, Aidan Chick hit a shot from the perimeter for three, and Tystad, Roberson, Engle and Christian Santos each added two points.
The Dogies will have another opportunity to get past the Bulldogs as they face off in the 1:00 game this Thursday at the 3A East Regional Tournament in the Dome. 
“I still think it’s a good matchup for us. They throw several shooters out there but aren’t nearly as assertive as I thought they’d be,” Von Eye nodded. “We have to rebound better because we gave up way too many offensive boards, we have to defend better and keep people out of the paint, and we have to maintain patience on offense to get good shots instead of settling for perimeter shots. It’s about the basics and doing things the right way.”
The Dogies also have Douglas and Torrington on their side of the bracket, which Von Eye thinks is a pretty good draw as well.
“Anyone can beat anyone, as witnessed by Thermop beating number one Buffalo last Friday. This is the best team in the Conference, so you just never know,” he shrugged. “Everyone will play a solid game, but so will our kids. They are excited and we no longer have quarter worries since it’s just varsity. We have all the guys all for four quarters, so we can ride the hot hand and just play basketball.”
“It will be a fun tournament, and it’s going to be a crap shoot,” Von Eye smiled. “Not one team can claim they have it in the bag, and it’s great that it’s at home in the Dome.”