Bulldogs defend off Panthers but fall short to Cardinals

By Kelsie Hoitomt

The Boyceville boys’ basketball team hosted the St. Croix Central Panthers last Thursday night, February 7 and then they hit the road to Spring Valley Friday night for a game that was cancelled last month due to the weather.

Bulldogs pull off 49-43 victory against St. Croix Central

Close at times is definitely what the game was against the Panthers considering the Bulldogs had a four point lead after the first quarter and then they trailed off and lost the lead in the second with the score at 20-19 by halftime.

The Bulldogs gained a lead again after the half as they charged the net more instead of swinging the ball around the arc like they have in their previous games.

As a team the Bulldogs played their best game in the second half with 14 points scored in the third including a trey by Jordan Kuhn and Justin Schulz and then 16 points were scored in the fourth.

There were a couple of times that the Bulldogs held a ten point lead over the Panthers, but turnovers and poor passes allowed the Panthers to close the gap.

The Panthers drained three treys in the fourth quarter, which pushed them closer to the lead, but too many fouls in the final minutes put the Bulldogs on the line for a few added points.

As a team the Bulldogs had 23 attempts at the foul line, 13 of those being in the fourth quarter alone and they were successful with 11 of those baskets. The Panthers had eight attempts and were successful with five.

Brady Schutts and Mitch Leach led the team in points. Schutts had 12 from two deuces, a trey and five free throws. Leach had a strong performance under the net with five deuces. Collecting the rest of the points were Kuhn with eight, Ryan Williams had six, Zach Klassen had five, Schulz and Michael Lagerstrom each had three and Matt Leach had a basket.

Bulldogs 0-2 against Spring Valley Cardinals

A lack of performance in the second half of the game gave the Cardinals the 53-36 win over the Bulldogs last Friday, February 8.

The Bulldogs stayed within four points of the Cardinals throughout the first half of the game with the score at 17-13 after the first and 22-18 by the half.

However, the Cardinals furthered their lead after the half as they scored 15 points in the third and the Bulldogs had ten for a 37-28 score. This continued into the fourth quarter and the Bulldogs were just not able to catch up as they scored just eight points, five of which were from free throws.

Despite the loss, Kuhn was the player of the night as he posted 20 points after draining six treys, three of which were in the first quarter alone along with a two point shot.

Collecting the rest of the points were Lagerstrom with six, Williams had five, Schutts had three and Tyler Draeger had two.

The Bulldogs hosted the Hilltoppers on Tuesday and will finished their regular season on Friday, February 15 at home against Mondovi. They will play their first Regional game at home against Flambeau on Tuesday, February 19 starting at 7:00 p.m.