Shaking off holiday rust

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
The Dogies returned to action last weekend after a three-week hiatus from competition and limited practice opportunities to face two tough opponents in the Torrington Trailblazers on the road on Friday and the Gering Bulldogs at home on Saturday.
Newcastle appeared to have gotten a little rusty as competition tipped off in Goshen County with the Blazers jumping on the Dogies early.
“We gave them some easy shots which we had stressed we could not do,” head coach Allen Von Eye frowned. “We wanted to contest everything because their efficiency and percentages drop considerably when they don’t get open looks.”
After the slow start, the Dogies amped up the intensity of play and got back into the game. Unfortunately, Torrington played what Von Eye described as the best defensive game he has seen them play in the last couple of years making it difficult for his team to get open running their offensive sets.
“It was very tough for us to get open running our usual cuts, so we went to back screens and pin screens,” he began. “Unfortunately, we got called for a couple of offensive fouls so that made us hesitant.”
One of the Dogies’ leading scorers, Cade Ostenson, also got into foul trouble early and often so was relegated to the bench for 20 of the 32 minutes of the contest. Despite his limited minutes, the senior still managed to drain in 23 points and lead his team in scoring, however his absence on the court for the majority of the game was certainly felt.
“Not having Cade on the floor for all that time certainly hurts for continuity, but that’s the way it goes sometimes,” Von Eye stated. “We did a lot of good things in the game without him, and it gave us the opportunity to learn some things as well. Dylon [Tidyman] hit some huge shots from the perimeter which is something we have been encouraging him to do.”
Unfortunately, some early missed bunnies and a sluggish third quarter put the Dogies into uncharted territory this season as they found themselves in a 16-point deficit at one point in the second half.
“That’s just really difficult to come back from,” Von Eye sighed. “Our kids fought their way back as best they could, but you just can’t dig yourself out of that big of a hole in 3A, especially on the road.”
Newcastle outscored the Blazers 22-20 in the fourth quarter, however it was too little, too late so they dropped the contest 51-60.
Von Eye and his team addressed the issues which contributed to the loss on the bus ride home on Friday night and in their walk-through on Saturday morning in order to prepare to take on Gering that afternoon.
“We realized that we weren’t pushing the ball the way we needed to, so we stressed the importance of that,” Von Eye nodded. “I was very pleased to see how the guys responded in the game on Saturday.”
It was obvious the team took it to heart from the start against Gering. Though the Bulldogs took an early lead, the Dogies tied things up at the 4:40 mark of the first quarter and never relinquished the lead from there.
“That was us in our element,” Von Eye grinned. “We were up and down the floor, imposing our will on them. Defensively with our pressure, we slowed them down and made them think twice or hesitate. Or we sped them up so that they were acting without thinking. Offensively we attacked the basket, and we ran the floor which put so much pressure on their defense.”
The contest gave fans everything they could hope for with both teams battling hard for the duration. The Bulldogs outsized the Dogies, but Newcastle’s speed and hard work negated the size difference. At several points in the game, the Dogies were able to extend their lead into the double digits, and then Gering would answer back to get within striking distance.
The Bulldogs pulled within two points in the waning minutes, however the Dogies refused to relinquish control and went on to win 73-66.
Tidyman and Ostenson each put on a clinic for basketball fans on the night. Tidyman finished with his third double-double of the season pouring in 33 points and pulling down 12 rebounds while Ostenson contributed 29 points of his own.
The Dogies have an overnight road weekend as they travel to Burns to take on the Broncs on Friday and then will head for Rawlins for a Saturday contest against the Outlaws.