Dogies get the 'W' against the Broncs

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
It’s been since December 21st that the Dogies have felt the sweet thrill of victory, but they earned their way back into the “W” column last Friday with their 36-33 win over the 3A Southeast quadrant Burns Broncs. Though it was not a win that will impact seeding for the Regional Tournament, it does mark the first against a Wyoming team this season.
“It was good to get a win and the kids were excited,” smiled head coach Allen Von Eye. “You could almost feel them take a big, collective breath, and it was just good.”
The first half of play may have had fans doubting the final outcome, however as the Dogies struggled to get going in the first two quarters. 
“We didn’t have patience on offense and our shot selection was not good, hence why we only had 13 points at the half,” Von Eye admitted. “But our defense was solid so we were able to hold them to just 19 points and were still in it.”
At half time, Von Eye preached to his team the need to reverse the ball and move it around in order to open up lanes to attack the paint or get touches inside, and that’s exactly what happened as the third quarter opened up. 
“We came out and went on a run because we started attacking the rim,” Von Eye grinned. Dylon [Tidyman] had some really nice back cuts that opened up draft drives for other guys, so we got into a flow. When that happens, shots start falling.” 
The Dogies went on a 14-7 run, doubling their first half score by the end of the third quarter. This allowed them to make up the six point deficit and take a one point lead into the final frame of play.
The final quarter was a battle between the two teams, and the Dogies had to fight down the stretch to maintain their lead.
“It was great to see how they responded because we haven’t been in that type of situation often this season,” Von Eye admitted.  “You get tight and you want to win, but you’re not sure how to do it, but I thought they executed well down the stretch.” 
Free throws were vital in the final minutes of play, and though the squad did miss some, including one in the final seconds that could have put it away, they also hit some big ones to keep the lead.
Tidyman was a workhorse for the Dogies finishing the night with 14 points, eight rebounds, one assist, six steals and two blocks. Zach Purviance was next with eight points, followed by Tate Engle with seven, Christian Santos with three and Slade Roberson and Aidan Chick added two each.
The Dogies carried their momentum into Saturday’s contest against the Cardinals of Chadron, Neb. This opponent brought a little more to the table, however, and Von Eye described them as one of the best shooting teams he’s seen in a while.
“It was awesome to see the guys follow up with a good game against a good team,” he nodded. “We really battled and played so much smarter, our ball movement was so much better and we had much better shot selection overall.”
The Cardinals began with a man-to-man defense and then switched to a well executed 1-3-1 zone defense which made offense a little more difficult to execute for Newcastle.
“They had a lot of length in that zone, but I thought our kids did a really good job of being patient and moving the ball around for some great shots,” Von Eye stated.
Indeed, the shots the Dogies put up were good ones and they hit five threes in the game and each of them, aside from one of Tidyman’s that was contested, was wide open. 
The Dogies’ defensive game was also on point, aside from a couple of trips in the second quarter which, unfortunately got the Cardinals going on a hot streak where they hit five threes in five consecutive trips down the court.
“For the first quarter and a half, we did a nice job of closing out on shooters, but then we gave them some open looks and they hit a couple so got some confidence and momentum,” Von Eye frowned. “That was the difference in the ball game. They only outscored us three points in the second half, but we took some steps forward and I think the kids really saw it.”
After only trailing by one at the end of the first quarter, Newcastle went into the locker room down 21-30 at the half. In the final two quarters of play, the Dogies went blow for blow, but once again, couldn’t climb out of the hole they had dug for themselves, so dropped the game 48-60.
“We had lengthy conversations after both games about what we do well, and I think they are starting to get that figured out,” Von Eye stated. “It was great to see growth as we head into a pretty important week of quadrant play.”
Purviance was the can-do man for the Dogies in this contest. He finished with 18 points, two rebounds, two assists, one block and took a charge. Tidyman was next with 13 points, Landon Engle had 5, Chick finished with four, Tate Engle added three, Santos and Peyton Tystad each had two and Bradyn Frye rounded out the scoring with one point. 
This week, the Dogies travel to Thermopolis on Friday and host Buffalo at home on Saturday. “These are two big quad games so it is important for us to continue to take steps forward. We could obviously use the Thermop game to try to get up in the three seed because it’s still available,” Von Eye declared. “That’s a big game for us, and then we have Buffalo who is a beatable team as well. We have to keep up our good defense and keep being patient on offense to get good looks.”