Bulldogs win two of three at BHB Classic

The Lovell Bulldogs showed they’re a team on the rise over the weekend, going 2-1 at the Big Horn Basin Classic tournament they hosted and coming close in the third game.The Bulldogs stopped the Thermopolis Bobcats 74-61 Thursday night, fell to second-ranked and defending state champion Buffalo 50-47 Friday, then polished off Powell Saturday afternoon, 50-31.For coach Craig Lundberg, the tournament was an indication that the team is continuing to improve, building depth and buying into the game plan coaches believe will work the best.The Lovell game play played out well against Thermop, a scrappy, aggressive team from the 2A ranks that always gives opponents fits. The Bulldogs went inside to centers Nic Haskell and Trace Murphey, who finished with 24 and 20 points, respectively, with forward Beau Green chipping in 15.That trio got the Bulldogs started as Murphey scored 6 points in the first quarter, Green 5 and Haskell 4. The game was tied 14-14 before Lovell closed the first quarter with an 8-0 run – two inside baskets from Haskell and a pair of buckets by Konner Davis off the bench.“We knew going into the game that Thermop would want to make the game a scramble,” Lundberg said. “I just stressed to the kids to remember what we were trying to accomplish offensively and execute it. The game would take care of itself.“We want to make teams match up with our bigs inside. We took care of the ball pretty decent. We did have some rust this weekend, and it showed in later games. But the boys did come out and play with energy and intensity, and I thought our guys did a good job on their two bigs.”Lundberg praised Davis for his spark, noting, “The guys who come in off the bench sometimes don’t realize how valuable their energy and spark is to us. Konner has done a great job for us this year.The teams traded baskets in the second quarter, leaving Lovell up 37-30 at halftime, but the Bulldogs seized control of the[caption id="attachment_10838" align="alignright" width="285"]Lovell senior guard Konner Davis splits a pair of Powell defenders during Lovell’s 50-31 win in the Big Horn Basin Basketball Classic at Winterholler Gym Saturday afternoon. David Peck photo Lovell senior guard Konner Davis splits a pair of Powell defenders during Lovell’s 50-31 win in the Big Horn Basin Basketball Classic at Winterholler Gym Saturday afternoon.
David Peck photo[/caption]game in the third quarter, outscoring the Bobcats 23-11 to lead 60-41 after three. Haskell had 12 points in the quarter as Thermop had no answer for the big guy.Lovell led 72-50 in the fourth quarter before Lundberg cleared the bench and Thermop cut the final margin with an 11-2 finish.Haskell led the Bulldogs with 24 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocked shots. Murphey added 20 points, Green 15 points, seven boards and four steals.THERMOPOLIS (61)Hudson Roling 3 0-2 6, Dominic Jensen 1 0-0 3, Tyler Cornwell 7 1-2 17, Michael Meier 1 0-0 2, Noah Schwalbe 2 0-3 4, Keegan Robbins 5 1-4 11, Eric Herold 7 0-0 18. Totals 26 2-11 61.LOVELL (74)Riley Abraham 1 0-0 2, Dillon Schneider 0 0-0 0, Jacob Newman 2 0-1 5, Konner Davis 3 0-0 6, Brandon Teter 0 0-0 0, Reece May 1 0-0 2, Beau Green 6 2-3 15, Nic Haskell 12 0-1 24, Trace Murphey 9 2-2 20. Totals 34 4-7 74.Thermop 14    16    11    20 – 61Lovell   22    15    23    14 – 74Three-point field goals – Herold 4, Cornwell 2, Jensen 1; Newman 1, Green 1. Fouled out – none. Total fouls – Thermop 13, Lovell 9.Buffalo 50, Lovell 47The battle between the Bulldogs and the second-ranked Buffalo Bison came down to the wire Friday afternoon. The Bison did a better job against the Lovell post players, who combined for 13 points, but the wings stepped up, as Green scored 16 points, Teter 14.“You could see the difference defensively between Thermopolis and Buffalo by how active their hands were,” Lundberg said. “We turned the ball over sometimes very uncharacteristically compared to the rest of the season. We felt we could compete against Buffalo, and we did.“I really felt our bigs got a little frustrated during the game, not getting the touches they’re used to. We didn’t execute our ball movement and player movement in the second and third quarters. In the fourth quarter we started doing what we’re capable of doing, got open shots and were able to drive to the hoop.“I felt we had opportunities to win that game. I hope the boys will use that as something to learn from.”The game was tight from start to finish. Lovell led 14-12 late in the first quarter following an inside bucket by Murphey and a jumper by Teter, but Hayden Peterson canned a trey to put the Bison up 15-14 after one. The Bulldogs struggled offensively in the second quarter, getting down 23-14 before stepping it up on defense and outscoring Buffalo 6-2 down the stretch with Green scoring all 6. Buffalo led 25-20 at intermission.Both teams scored 11 in the third, leaving Buffalo up 36-31 after three, and Lovell battled back in the fourth quarter, eventually knotting the score 47-47 after a 10-2 run that included two free throws by Haskell, a three-pointer by Teter on a kick from Murphey, a bucket by Teter following a hustle rebound by Haskell and a trey from the corner by Green with 55 seconds left.In the final minute Buffalo hit three of six free throw attempts, while Lovell was 0-2 at the line. Trailing by three, the Bulldogs couldn’t get a shot off in the final three seconds.Green finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, Teter 14 points, Murphey 10 points and seven rebounds and Haskell 3 points, 12 boards and four assists.“Brandon Teter was huge for us,” Lundberg said. “He came out very aggressively and looked for his shot.”LOVELL (47)Riley Abraham 1 0-0 2, Dillon Schneider 0 0-0 0, Jacob Newman 1 0-0 2, Konner Davis 0 0-0 0, Brandon Teter 5 1-2 14, Beau Green 5 4-4 16, Nic Haskell 1 1-2 3, Trace Murphey 4 2-5 10. Totals 17 8-13 47.BUFFALO (50)Trey Schroefel 5 7-14 17, Hayden Peterson 3 4-7 11, Tristan Hepp 1 0-0 2, Tommy Fieldgrove 3 0-2 6, Caden Milmine 0 0-0 0, TJ Bauer 2 1-2 5, Alex Keifer 3 0-0 8, Tyler Shreve 0 1-2 1. Totals 17 13-27 50.Lovell  14      6    11    16 – 47Buffalo 15    10    11    14 – 50Three-point field goals – Teter 3, Green 2; Keifer 2, Peterson 1. Fouled out – none. Total fouls – Lovell 18, Buffalo 14.Lovell 50, Powell 31The Bulldogs were at the top of their game and gradually pulled away from the Powell Panthers to win by 19 points Saturday afternoon. Perhaps feeling the wear and tear of the tournament, the two teams were sloppy in the first quarter, combining for 10 turnovers, but an 8-0 run late in the quarter helped Lovell take a 14-10 lead at the quarter break. Murphey was strong inside for the Bulldogs, scoring three baskets.A lob from Green to Haskell and a three-point play by Teter boosted the Bulldog lead to 19-10 early in the second quarter, and after Powell fought back, a personal 5-0 run by Haskell in the final 15 seconds left Lovell with a 25-19 lead at halftime, which Lundberg said gave the Bulldogs a boost.Six players scored for the Bulldogs in the third quarter as Lovell began to pull away with a 15-7 advantage, leading 40-26 after three.“We talked about our energy in the first half,” Lundberg said. “Sometimes we had it, but it was not all five guys at the same time. I thought Dillon (Schneider) and Konner (Davis) brought energy in the second half, and it’s contagious. We had a group of guys in the third quarter who really brought the energy and tenacity that we need, and that carried over into the fourth quarter, as well.“Riley (Abraham – two second-half three-pointers) came in and played extremely well. He was much more aggressive than I’ve seen him at the varsity level. It was nice to see him calm and confident.”Lovell won the fourth 10-5 to win 50-31.“We limited Powell to 12 points in the second half, including just 5 in the fourth quarter, which is great.”Haskell finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and a pair of blocks, Abraham 9 points and Murphey 9 points and eight rebounds. Green added 7 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals, Jacob Newman 4 points and four assists.Open weekendThe Bulldogs hosted Cody for their first conference game Tuesday night. and will be open this weekend before returning to action January 22-23, hosting Powell and Thermopolis.POWELL (31)Kaden Moore 0 0-0 0, Kristian Stenlund 3 1-3 8, Zach Schuler 1 0-0 2, Zach Meredith 0 1-2 1, Sean Wagner 1 0-1 2, TJ Abraham 2 3-4 7, Carson Heinen 4 3-4 11, Max Gallagher 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 8-14 31.LOVELL (50)Riley Abraham 3 1-1 9, Dillon Schneider 1 0-0 2, Jacob Newman 2 0-0 4, Konner Davis 0 0-0 0, Brandon Teter 1 0-0 2, Kaleb Mayes 0 0-0 0, Kyle Wolvington 0 0-0 0, Brent Snyder 1 0-0 2, Tyler Teter 0 1-2 1, Reece May 0 0-0 0, Beau Green 3 1-1 7, Nic Haskell 5 4-5 14, Trace Murphey 4 1-2 9. Totals 20 8-11 50.Powell 10      9      7      5 – 31Lovell   14    11    15    10 – 50Three-point field goals – Stenlund 1; Abraham 2. Fouled out – none. Total fouls – Powell 13, Lovell 15.

By David Peck