The Bowman County Bulldogs had been licking their wounds after a close loss to Richardton-Taylor the same night.
By COLE BENZ
For The Pioneer | [email protected]
The Mandaree Warriors came to play against Bowman last week fresh off a big win against Beach — beating the Buccaneers by 30 points on Feb. 5.
The Bowman County Bulldogs had been licking their wounds after a close loss to Richardton-Taylor the same night.
But the Dogs were resilient as they held on for a 61-53 victory against Mandaree at home Feb. 12.
Bowman County came out with energy and put up 16 points in the first quarter, thanks in part to 6-point scoring effort from sophomore Dylan Scott.
Scott would finish with a team high of 20 points.
Mandaree did what they could to contain the Bulldogs. They put on the full-court press practically from tip-off, and wouldn’t relax their defense for the entire contest. But their defensive prowess was wasted by missed shots from the field. Mandaree had a good presence at the post, and an athletic guard in freshman Jesse Chase, but they couldn’t pull down the offensive boards for second-chance scoring that could have kept this contest closer. Chase would get hot in the second quarter, scoring nine points for his team. But the Bulldogs entered the halftime break leading 36-22.
The Warriors gained a little ground in the third quarter after scoring 10 points, and holding Bowman County to their first single-digit quarter, allowing only eight points from the Bulldogs.
Mandaree freshman guard Ashton Grady led the Warrior comeback with a 9-point scoring effort in the fourth quarter. Senior Chance Lone Bear had four points and sophomores Austin Lone Bear, Manual Lucio, along with Chase, each scored two points to help in the effort.
The Bulldogs carried a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter against the Warriors but a late-game push by the boys from Mandaree cut the lead to just four points with only a couple minutes left.
A big performance by senior Alex Bartholomay in that final quarter kept the Bulldogs in it when the Warriors were making their comeback. Bartholomay scored eight points.
Bowman County capped of the evening by securing a victory before the weekend, bringing their record to 8-8.
Leading the way for Mandaree was Chase with 19 points, followed by Grady with 13.
Following Scott’s 20-point effort was sophomore Andrew Miller with 15 for Bowman County.
Bartholomay was third in scoring with 13.