Dogies get the Dub

The Dogie hoopsters claimed their first win of the season Friday when the Tongue River Eagles came to town. Newcastle High School led from the tip and cruised to a 46-33 victory. On Saturday, however, the Dogies were up against it facing the Bison in Buffalo without point guard Teddy Troftgruben, and head coach Allen Von Eye’s crew couldn’t keep up and dropped the contest, 39-66.

“It was a slugfest (on Friday), but our kids played really hard, which was great,” Von Eye said. “It was good to get that one and get off the schneid a little bit.”

Senior guard Thatcher Troftgruben echoed Von Eye’s thoughts regarding both the win and the game his team put together.

“It was good to get the Dub! We played pretty well defensively and made our defense turn into offense, which was good,” Thatcher said, grinning. “We didn’t shoot well from the free-throw line, but our defense covered us in that respect.”

Despite being faced with a zone defense from the Eagles, Newcastle was still able to play their up-tempo style of game because the Dogie defense forced turnovers they turned into transition buckets. When all was said and done, the Eagles committed 26 turnovers to the Dogies’ 12.

“We are definitely stronger against a man defense, but we played pretty well considering they zoned us,” Von Eye said. “We knew we could run those guys off the court, which is why they went into a zone.”

The Eagles had one player who was 6 feet, 9 inches tall, and he was the major threat for Tongue River. Despite being significantly shorter than their big, the Dogies made him work for his points.

“He was their main scorer and we forced that kid to take some tough shots and we guarded him pretty well,” Von Eye said. “You know you are doing what you are supposed to when you keep everyone else to four points.”

Von Eye did admit that the game wasn’t exactly a good-looking display of basketball.

“It’s not about being pretty, it’s about being gritty,” he said. “Sometimes when you are a new squad, you just have to grit it out, and it doesn’t always have to look pretty.”

With about five minutes to play in the contest, Teddy Troftgruben suffered a sprained ankle that sidelined him for the remainder of the night and had him dressed in street clothes on Saturday as the Dogies took on the Bison.

“Buffalo was a tough ball game that we were really confident about if we went in full strength,” Von Eye said. “It wouldn’t have been as bad of a situation if we had had a full week to prep, but we put Colten (Hatheway) under quite a bit of pressure with just talking to him to prepare him.”

“We went in without Teddy and that hurt our offensive power,” Thatcher agreed. “You could tell that our guys were a little nervous because they were playing in spots they weren’t used to, so that pushed us out of our comfort zone.”

Things went from bad to worse when Thatcher and starter Kyan Allen got into foul trouble in the first half, sidelining them. As a result, it was a bunch of sophomores and freshmen who were on the floor for Newcastle against a very physical Buffalo team.

“That’s a tough situation to be in, but credit to our kids. They fought hard the whole time,” Von Eye said. “Buffalo backed off and sat in the zone for the latter part of the game, which was good for us to be able to see that and try to work against it.”

The second half was indeed better for the Dogies as they began to adjust to playing new roles with new demands put upon them. After scoring only 11 points in the first two quarters, the Dogies put up 28 points and actually out-scored Buffalo in the third and fourth frames of play.

“We were a little uncomfortable and I think that hurt our confidence a little bit,” Thatcher said. “I’m looking forward to seeing them again with Teddy. I don’t think our performance on Saturday showed who we really are.”

“The dynamic play that Teddy brings, and then Thatcher is able to play off that, really brings a lot to our game,” Von Eye said. “So that definitely made a difference, especially coming into the contest. We are looking forward to seeing them again later when we are full force.”

The Dogies will take on Wheatland when the Bulldogs come to Newcastle on Saturday. Tip off for the junior varsity is scheduled for 11 a.m.