Bulldogs suffer first loss at Thermop after crushing Powell

Two days after clobbering Powell to improve their season record to 14-0, the Lovell Bulldogs – playing without star center Owen Walker – lost their first game of the season, dropping a 66-64 overtime heartbreaker to the top-ranked team in Class 2A, the Thermopolis Bobcats in Thermop.

While a fired-up Bulldog squad took it to local rival Powell on Thursday, they didn’t have nearly the same zest, albeit playing without one of their best players, on Saturday, head coach Shane Durtsche said. Walker took a hard fall late in the win over Powell, and coaches and trainers elected to sit him out at Thermop as a precaution.

His absence was clearly a factor in the Lovell loss, but it didn’t account for the way the Bulldogs played, Durtsche said.

“We did not have near the energy we played Powell with,” the coach said. “Owen being out probably affected a couple of our kids mentally, though we had enough to win. Give credit to Thermop. They played a really good game. They shot lights out, moved the basketball and got after us defensively. That’s the best Thermop team I’ve seen in years.”

Lovell jumped out to a nine-point lead in the first quarter but couldn’t hold it, Durtsche said, adding, “We had a couple of chances to increase the lead, but we didn’t, and that came back to bite us. Ultimately, they wanted that game more than we did.”

The Bulldogs led 20-16 after the first quarter and clung to a 33-32 lead at halftime, but Thermop dominated the third quarter 15-8 to lead 47-41 after three.

“We took a couple of bad shots, had some defensive breakdowns and gave up an offensive rebound or two, and they made us pay for it,” Durtsche said. “We had at least two possessions where we didn’t take good shots.”

Down 49-41 early in the fourth, the Bulldogs battled back to within three points, 53-50. Sharpshooting sophomore Kaeson Anderson drained a clutch three-pointer to tie the score, and after Thermop scored on a bank shot with 1:30 to play, Anderson drilled a long trey to put Lovell up 56-55. Thermop answered with a trey of their own to lead 58-56, but Anderson drove to the basket, was fouled and hit both free throws to tie the score 58-58.

Thermop junior Zak Hastie plowed over Davin Crosby for an offensive foul with five seconds left. A rather wild shot at the buzzer failed to connect, and Durtsche took the blame for the poor possession, noting, “I needed to do a better job drawing it up and communicating it (the play).”

The game went into overtime, and after a Thermop player dribbled the ball off his foot, Anderson swished another trey, and Lovell led 61-58, but not for long. The Bobcats hit one of two at the foul line but grabbed the offensive rebound on the second-shot miss and drained a trey to lead 62-61. Robert Romero countered with a trey for Lovell (64-62), but Thermop came right back to dip inside for two, tying the score.

Romero missed a trey at the other end, and Brody Welch scored on a put-back for the Bobcats, who led 66-64 with 17 seconds left. Anderson drove for the tying bucket but was hounded in the lane and missed, ending the game in favor of Thermopolis.

“I was disappointed in our effort overall,” Durtsche said. “I don’t think I had them ready for the game. “Our defense wasn’t what we needed it to be. As good as we were Thursday, I was disappointed on Saturday. I don’t think we overlooked them. We just weren’t ready.

“My expectation is to win every game. However, a lot of good can come from a loss. We will have a chance to re-focus.”

Anderson finished with 26 points for the Bulldogs, connecting on 10 of 16 shots from the field including four of seven three-point attempts. Crosby added 14 points, Jace Nicholls 9, Matthew Newman 6, Romero 5 and Kyle Wilson 4. Newman led the team with seven rebounds, eight assists and three steals, and Nicholls had five boards and six assists. Thermop shot the ball well, hitting at 59 percent from the field while Lovell shot 47 percent.

Powell

The Bulldogs started the weekend with an important conference game and crushed the Powell Panthers in Powell, 70-33, and though the Bulldogs didn’t get out quite as fast as they did on January 18, a 74-38 win, they actually increased their margin in Panther Gym by one point.

Both teams struggled to find the basket early, and Powell led once in the game, 2-0, as Jaxon Hancock scored inside on a zip pass 2½ minutes into the game, but Nicholls scored on a put-back, was fouled and hit the and-one free throw, putting Lovell up 3-2. Romero scored on a transition jumper, Nicholls scored on a dish from Walker to put Lovell up 7-2, and the Bulldogs never looked back. Powell did close the deficit to two points, 9-7, on a trey by Nathan Preator, but Anderson answered at the other end with a triple of his own, Nicholls scored on a fast break and Walker took a lob pass from Crosby for an emphatic slam dunk that brought the large group of LHS students to their feet. Lovell went on to lead 16-9 at the quarter break.

The Bulldogs pulled away in the second quarter. A trey by Nicholls capped an 11-3 run that left the Bulldogs up 27-12, and after a Powell bucket, the Bulldogs finished the quarter with an 8-2 run to lead 35-16 at halftime.

Defense was the name of the game, Durtsche said.

“Defense is what we did well,” he said. “The only change we made from the first game was to trap ball screens with our length and athletic ability. You can get hurt on that (strategy), but I’ll put money on us. Our reward outweighed the risk.”

If anything, the Bulldogs turned up the defensive intensity in the third quarter, shutting Powell out for nearly three minutes while scoring 9 points to lead 44-16. The Bulldogs went on to lead 55-27 at the quarter break.

“As good as we played in the first half, I felt we could play even better in the second,” Durtsche said. “We missed on a couple of defensive rotations (in the first half) and needed better communication, and we wanted to come out in the second half and bury them.

“I was very impressed with the defense we played that night. We were closing out hard and rotating quickly.”

A pass from Romero to Crosby for two and a trey by Romero put Lovell up 60-27 early in the fourth quarter, and the Bulldogs were cruising to victory. Then with 5:56 to play, Walker rose high in an attempt to block a shot by Hancock and flipped up over the top of the Powell center and landed on his upper back and neck. He lay on the floor for a minute or two while being evaluated, then rose and took a seat on the bench. Lovell went on to win 70-33 as Owen Edwards and Romero hit late three-pointers and James Blau hit a left-handed hook to finish off the victory.

With Walker being stiff and sore the following day and Saturday, the Bulldogs held him out of the Thermopolis game as a precaution.

“We wanted to be careful. Ultimately, we wanted him to be healthy,” Durtsche said.

The Bulldogs had amazing offensive balance in the game, with five players in double figures while shooting 50 percent from the field and 73 percent at the foul line. Anderson and Nicholls scored 14 points each, Walker 12, Romero 11, Newman 10, Crosby 4, Edwards 3 and Blau 2. Nicholls had a remarkable stat line of seven rebounds, five assists and five steals to go with his 14 points. Walker snared nine rebounds, Anderson six.

“It was great to see five in double figures,” Durtsche said. “We have six players on the roster who can get you double figures. We also took care of the ball with just five turnovers.”

Long trip

The Bulldogs will now hit the road for the long trip to the 3A Southwest, playing at Pinedale Friday and Lander Saturday.

Lovell beat Pinedale (8-5) 77-38 early in the season at the Lander Invitational.

“They’ll get after you. They’re a hard-nosed, aggressive team,” Durtsche said. “They like to shoot threes and will bring a lot of energy. Pinedale is a tough place to play. They’re guard oriented and will get up and down the court.”

Fifth-ranked Lander (8-6) may well be the best team in the Southwest 3A, Durtsche said. Defensively, the Tigers will extend their zone and employ a three-quarter-court press. 

“They’ll come out and really extend,” he said. “They’re aggressive and active with their hands. They get in the passing lanes. They shoot a lot of threes. They might be at full strength for the first time all year.

“These are the two best teams in the south. They both have good environments and are tough places to play.”

Tap times are 4 (JV) and 7 p.m. in Pinedale Friday and 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. in Lander Saturday.