Final split — Dogies split final weekend, turn attention to Regionals

The Newcastle Dogies were hoping to close out the regular season with momentum heading into the 3A East Regional Tournament, but settled for a weekend split — celebrating Senior Night with a decisive 63-50 win over Glenrock before stumbling 79-37 at third-ranked Buffalo on Saturday.

With the No. 4 seed already locked in for the 3A East Regional Tournament, the games carried no postseason implications. Still, momentum mattered.

“We knew this week really didn’t impact seeding much for us,” head coach Allen Von Eye said. “But it was important for momentum’s sake.”

That focus showed Friday night in the Dogie Dome.

After nearly two weeks without a game, Newcastle showed some early rust and trailed Glenrock by eight in the opening minutes. But fittingly on Senior Night, Teddy Troftgruben steadied the group.

“Teddy really took over the later portion of the first quarter,” Von Eye said. “He put us on his back.”

Troftgruben scored 10 of his 14 points in the opening frame, helping Newcastle flip a deficit into a 15-14 lead at the buzzer. The Dogies never trailed again.

Newcastle ramped up its defensive intensity in the second quarter, holding Glenrock to just five points while building a 30-19 halftime advantage. The message at the break was simple: Defend with purpose and continue attacking the rim.

“We’ve become one of the best teams in the state at putting pressure on the rim and scoring in the paint,” Von Eye said. “We needed to hang our hats on that.”

The Dogies did exactly that in the third quarter. Despite Troftgruben picking up his third foul early, Newcastle outscored the Herders 20-10 behind a 10-point burst from Kyan Allen. Glenrock made a late push after Troftgruben fouled out midway through the fourth, trimming the lead to nine, but Newcastle iced the game at the free-throw line.

Four Dogies reached double figures, and Allen and Dustin McCarthy both recorded double-doubles in a complete performance that put Newcastle back on track entering the postseason.

Unfortunately, that rhythm did not carry over 24 hours later.

Traveling to Buffalo to face the No. 3-ranked Bison, Newcastle ran into a buzz saw on Senior Night.

“We felt that Buffalo was a team that we matched up with really well,” Von Eye said. “However, their Senior Night energy far exceeded our own.”

Buffalo jumped out early and never looked back. The Bison knocked down 12 three-pointers and controlled the glass, outworking Newcastle physically throughout the contest.

Allen led the Dogies with 18 points, and Troftgruben chipped in four points and battled for nine rebounds inside. Despite those efforts, Newcastle struggled to generate consistent offense against Buffalo’s defensive pressure.

“We struggled matching their physicality and their energy on the glass,” Von Eye said. “We didn’t close out to shooters and allowed them to make 12 threes.”

The result was a disappointing end to the regular season.

“It was not the way we would have scripted going into regionals, but it is a great opportunity to refocus and re-engage on the mission at hand,” Von Eye said.

Newcastle enters the regional tournament as the No. 4 seed and will face No. 5 Torrington at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 5.

The two teams met recently in the Dogie Dome, where Newcastle earned a 60-54 win. That night, Torrington was without 6-foot-9 Kaleb Booth in the middle. He will return for the rematch.

“They are playing good basketball of late,” Von Eye said, noting Torrington’s recent road win at Wheatland. “We need to get back to playing solid defense, dominating the glass, and we need to find some perimeter presence from our shooters, Colten Hatheway and Coen Tavegie.”

Regionals will be played in Buffalo — the same floor where the Dogies finished their regular season — which could provide a degree of comfort in a win-or-go-home environment.

Newcastle enters the postseason 6-5 since Troftgruben returned to the lineup and sitting fourth in the 3A East Absaraka standings. The path forward is clear.

It starts with Torrington.

Statistics

Newcastle 63, Glenrock 50

Points by quarter Glenrock 14-5-10-21 — 50 Newcastle 15-15-20-13 — 63

Field goals: Glenrock 17-56 (30%); Newcastle 23-50 (46%) 3Three-point shooting: Glenrock 8-28 (29%); Newcastle 0-9 (0%) Free throws: Glenrock 8-13 (62%); Newcastle 17-29 (59%) Rebounds: Glenrock 30; Newcastle 41 Turnovers: Glenrock 11; Newcastle 13 Assists: Glenrock 6; Newcastle 4 Steals: Glenrock 9; Newcastle 5

Top Dogies Kyan Allen: 20 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks; Colten Hatheway: 16 points Teddy Troftgruben: 14 points Dustin McCarthy: 10 points, 12 rebounds

Buffalo 79, Newcastle 37

Points by quarter Buffalo 22-22-15-20 — 79 Newcastle 7-12-12-6 — 37

Field goals: Buffalo 29-70 (41%); Newcastle 14-46 (30%) 3Three-point shooting: Buffalo 12-29 (41%); Newcastle 1-10 (10%) Free throws: Buffalo 9-12 (75%); Newcastle 8-13 (62%) Rebounds: Buffalo 44; Newcastle 27 Turnovers: Buffalo 12; Newcastle 21 Assists: Buffalo 14; Newcastle 3 Steals Buffalo 11; Newcastle 4

Top Dogies Kyan Allen: 18 points, 5 rebounds Teddy Troftgruben: 4 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals Colten Hatheway 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists