Shorthanded Bulldogs clobber Worland and Cody

Down two players on the weekend, the Lovell Bulldogs managed to win a pair of conference games by double digits this week, stopping the Worland Warriors in Worland Thursday night, 59-43, and defeating Cody at home Saturday afternoon, 59-39.

The wins improved the Bulldogs to 17-2 overall, 7-0 in the Class 3A West, with three conference games remaining ahead of the regional tournament.

Lovell was playing without senior starters Kyle Wilson and Owen Edwards, and junior Kaeson Anderson was ill with flu-like symptoms on Thursday in Worland.

Edwards will return this week, and Wilson should be back, as well, if an ankle he sprained in practice last week continues to improve.

With two new players in the starting lineup and a new rotation off the bench, the Bulldogs had a few hiccups on offense, head coach Shane Durtsche said, but he liked his team’s defensive play and overall effort.

“In that first game, it was an adjustment,” Durtsche said. “But down those two starters, I loved our effort. And defensively, we played hard, but I’ll tell you in that first half (against Worland), we were really out of sorts offensively. It was a combination of things. For one, you’re working in a couple new kids, and that absolutely matters.”

Wilson was hurt in practice Tuesday when, during a competitive four-on-four drill, he came down on a teammate’s foot and rolled his ankle. Wilson missing time could have a silver lining in that some reserves received extended playing time, which could help down the stretch, Durtsche said, but on the other hand, Wilson was really starting to play some great basketball, coming into his own, and the injury is a setback. He added that, if it was the regional or state tournament, Wilson could likely have played, and he should be back this weekend.

Senior Brody Muller started for Wilson, and junior Sam Mayes started for Edwards, with seniors Cash Wassmer and Jaxen Clark seeing plenty of time off the bench. Seniors Owen Walker and Matthew Newman stepped up their game in the win, Durtsche said.

While the Bulldogs were somewhat out of sorts offensively at Worland, Durtsche said the defense was strong, and he noted that as Lovell outscored Worland 19-10 in the first quarter, several of the baskets came off defensive plays. Worland edged Lovell 15-14 in the second quarter, but the Bulldogs led 33-25 at halftime.

“I was very pleased, even at halftime, with just our grind, our effort,” Durtsche said. “And I just told them, ‘Hey, let’s slow things down offensively. We still want to look for transition. But if we don’t (score in transition), let’s just get into the offense and let it come to you.’”

The second half was played at a slower pace, Durtsche said. Lovell won the third quarter 12-6 to lead 45-31 and edged Worland in the fourth, 14-12, to win by 16.

“I never felt super comfortable,” Durtsche of the slower second half. “You could definitely tell you’re missing two starters, and the flow is just off. And then for me, I struggled to find the best kind of combination – what kid where. And so for me, you have those big three (Walker, Newman and Anderson), but you’re coaching a different team almost. So some of that was me trying to find the right rotation and things like that.”

Walker finished with 21 points, Newman 16 and Anderson 12. Clark and Mayes added 4 each, Muller 2. Walker had a monster game overall, hitting 9 of 15 shots from the field and leading the team with 20 rebounds, three steals and four blocked shots. Anderson tallied five rebounds and five assists, and Newman had four assists.

“Owen was huge. He had a huge night. He just was on,” Durtsche said. “And Matthew was outstanding. Matthew has been outstanding since that Thermop loss with his energy. And even Kaeson battled through and got us 12. And I asked him to guard a pretty good kid. He had a nice night.

“I think Worland is a state tournament team. I really do. So for us to go into Worland – a confident team playing well and a tough place to play historically – I was very pleased with this, especially with the situation we’re in.”

Cody win

The Cody Broncs had been playing good basketball of late but struggled in losses to Buffalo and Lovell. The Bulldogs beat Cody for the fifth time in two seasons.

The two rivals traded baskets early, and Cody was leading 7-6 when Anderson drained a long three-pointer and Walker splashed a trey from the top of the key. The two three-pointers sparked a 21-4 run and propelled the Bulldogs to an 18-9 lead at the quarter break and a 27-11 lead in the second period before Cody sharpshooter Trent Bower broke the run with a trey.

Perhaps playing off the home crowd, the Bulldogs played with great energy including flying drives in transition, offensive rebounds and inside moves. The run was capped by a thread-the-needle pass from Anderson to Newman.

Lovell led 27-14 at halftime.

The Bulldogs continued to pour it on in the third quarter, outscoring Cody 18-9 to lead 45-23 as Newman scored 10 points, Walker 6 and Clark 2 on a follow reverse layup.

Cody edged Lovell 16-14 in the fourth.

“I thought we took a big step forward with the group that we played, and some of that’s being at home. They’ve really enjoyed that this year,” Durtsche said. “Our crowd has been outstanding for the last few years. To come out like that on a Saturday afternoon and have a good, full gym, the kids are feeding off that, and they have really relished in the opportunity to play at home.

“The seniors have really stepped up. They’re really taking on a leadership role. One thing we try to do as a staff, and something I believe in, is you have to empower the kids. Ultimately, it’s their team. And I’ve really told our guys that since I’ve been here. … And so it’s been really fun to see this group. They’re taking this on. They’re growing up. They’re leading this thing.”

Walker led the Bulldogs with 21 points on 9 of 15 shooting, plus 13 rebounds and two blocks. Newman added 17 points and four assists, Anderson 8 points and four assists, Clark 3 points and five boards. Wassmer and Muller scored 4 points each, Mayes 2 points with three assists.

Lovell outrebounded Cody 30-19 and had just five turnovers to 16 for the Broncs.

Long road trip

The Bulldogs will make the long trip to Uinta County this weekend to meet Lyman Friday and Mountain View Saturday. Tap times are 4 (JV) and 7 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday.

Lyman is 9-7 overall, 2-4 in the 3A West after falling to Pinedale 63-58 in overtime Friday. Mountain View is 8-0 overall, 2-4 in the conference after falling to Lander 58-32 Friday and beating 3A East foe Rawlins 55-48 on Saturday.

Lyman can be a scary team with some size and athleticism, Durtsche said, and he described Mountain View as “a scrappy bunch that are going to play their tails off.

“And, you know, that’s a long road trip,” Durtsche continued. “So we just have to go be us. We need to continue to focus on us and continue to try to get better each time out. That’s really our focus right now, trying to continue to peak and get better as we head toward postseason.”