March Madness at the Dogie Dome

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
Dogie fans, come on out to the Dome this weekend for three days filled with great basketball because every eight years, Newcastle is the home to the 3A East Regional Basketball Tournament, and this is the year!
This Thursday, Friday and Saturday Newcastle will be inundated with basketball teams and fans from Buffalo, Burns, Douglas, Rawlins, Thermopolis, Torrington, and Wheatland as the men’s and women’s teams come to compete in March Madness at the Dome.
The Newcastle Lady Dogies (2NE) will tip off the tournament on Thursday morning as they face off against the Wheatland Lady Bulldogs (3NE) at 8:30 a.m. That contest will be followed by the Lady Outlaws of Rawlins (1SE) taking on the Buffalo Lady Bison (4NE) at 10.
The boys take the court in the next two contests at 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. First, the Bearcats of Douglas (2NE) take on the Torrington Trailblazers (3SE), and then the Newcastle Dogies (4NE) will battle the Bulldogs of Wheatland (1SE).
The afternoon session on Thursday will start off with the Lady Blazers of Torrington (2SE) taking on the Thermopolis Lady Bobcats (3NE) at 3 p.m., followed by the Douglas Lady Bearcats (1NE) against the Burns Lady Broncs (4SE) at 4:30.
The boys are back in the evening beginning with the contest between the Rawlins Outlaws (2SE) and the Thermopolis Bobcats (3NE) at 6. The final game of the day will feature the Buffalo Bison (1NE) against the Burns Broncs (4SE) at 7:30.
Friday morning will be the first round of loser out games, with the girls playing the first two contests at 8:30 a.m. and 10, followed by the boys at 11:30 and 1 p.m.
Friday afternoon and evening will feature the semifinal matchups for first the women and then the men at 3, 4:30, 6 and 7:30.
Saturday morning’s games are the second round of loser out contests beginning with the women at 8:30 and 10, and the men at 11:30 and 1. Then the third/fourth matchups follow with the women at 3 in the afternoon and the men at 4:30. Finally, the championship games will begin with the women at 6 p.m., followed by the men at 7:30.
All games will be played in the Dogie Dome, with Newcastle teams in action at 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Thursday. If they win their first game, the ladies will play at 3, and the men at 6 on Friday. With a loss on Thursday, the women will play at 8:30 a.m. and the men at 11:30 a.m. on Friday morning. In order to advance to the state tournament, teams must win two games before they lose two games over the course of the weekend.