Because of a rescheduled game due to weather, Bowman County got the pleasure of hosting two home games two evenings in a row.
Posted Jan. 24, 2014
By COLE BENZ
Pioneer Sports Writer
Because of a rescheduled game due to weather, Bowman County got the pleasure of hosting two home games two evenings in a row. The Bulldogs hosted the Watford City Wolves Monday and the Killdeer Cowboys Tuesday.
Bowman County gave Watford City a run for its money.
The Wolves came into the game hot, riding a five-game winning streak. The Wolves were able to secure their sixth victory with a 68-52 win over the Bulldogs, but they worked for it.
Both teams were running on all gears from tipoff. Watford City was running down the court in transition fast and that got the Bulldogs off to a quick start as well.
Senior Tanner Fischer got the offense going for Bowman County as he scored the team’s first eight points. The first quarter ended with the Wolves leading 18-16.
Watford City had an answer for almost every Bulldog basket. Bowman County tied it with the first basket of the second quarter, but they started to be careless with the basketball, and never had the lead again.
The Wolves would capitalize on a plethora of Bowman County turnovers. When they got the ball, it seemed like the Wolves just couldn’t miss a shot and garnered a lot of points as the result. Bowman County finished with 21 turnovers on the evening. Bowman County went into the half down 31-22.
Bowman County kept things close until the end of the third, when Watford City started to pull away. The Wolves extended their lead to as high as 18 points over the Bulldogs, but finished the game with the 68-52 victory.
Leading Bulldog scorer was senior Tanner Fischer who had 32, followed by junior Chandler Braaten who had 11. Braaten lead Bowman County in rebounds, he had seven boards on the evening.
The second game in as many days was quite the nail biter. In a game in which Bowman County played as well they have all season, they came away with the 70-64 victory in overtime over the Cowboys from Killdeer.
The game started out rough for Bowman County as Killdeer scored the first six points of the game, indicating that this may be a long night for the Bulldogs.
But Bowman was moving the ball well and had great shot selection, but they just couldn’t find the bottom of the basket right away. They kept driving the ball to the post. “We try to get into the middle of the defense, no matter if they are playing man or zone,” Bowman County Head Coach Steve Shahan said. His team worked their way back into the game and ended the half only down by two.
Junior Chandler Braaten basically took over the game in the third quarter. Scoring 11 points and matching all of Killdeer scoring for the quarter. The team took advantage of his hot hand and helped feed him the ball as he drove for layups, and sunk jumpers all around the court. Senior Tanner Fischer who lead the team in rebounds with five, also helped out in the third with five points of his own. Bowman went into the final quarter leading 43-39.
Bowman had an eight point lead when they lost their leading scorer. Braaten fouled out midway through the fourth quarter. Killdeer took advantage. They managed to cut the lead to three and got the ball back with just about 12 seconds on the clock.
Junior guard Tuff Kling momentarily saved the night for the Cowboys as he lifted a 3-pointer up with about 2 seconds left in regulation. The shot was so high and moved so slow through the air, that it looked as if it had stopped briefly before continuing its arc down. The shot initially looked like it would be too short, but then it came down, passing the rim and rustling the net, giving Bowman next to no time for one last heave before the game buzzer rang.
Regulation ended with both teams showing 57 on the scoreboard.
The overtime period was four minutes in length. The teams’ adrenaline was rushing and they looked exhausted form the first four quarters of play, but the kept on. It started out slow, each teams matching baskets and eventually they were tied up again at 64 points each. That’s when senior Hunter Lanchbury hit the jumper to give the Bulldogs a lead they would not relinquish.
With just under two minutes left Lanchbury brought the ball to the high point on the 3-point line and stopped and took his shot. He drained it, the ball slipped past the rim without touching it. Bowman had the three point lead and didn’t let it go, eventually earning the victory 70-64.
The Cowboys had their chances. They were tough and fought for the ball, but their deficiencies at the free-throw line hurt them. The also threw the ball away late and had eight more turnovers than Bowman County on the evening.
Leading scorer for the Bulldogs was Braaten who had 26, followed by Fischer who had 19. Junior Bondon Scott had 14 total points off the bench for Bowman County. Bowman County also out-rebounded Killdeer by 10 on the night.
