Bulldogs on a roll, crush Pinedale and Lander

The Lovell Bulldogs are revving up and taking no prisoners as they head into the final stretch of the regular season.

Playing at home over the weekend, the Bulldogs clobbered a pair of Southwest 3A foes in the form of Pinedale and Lander.

Hosting Pinedale Friday for Senior Night, the Bulldogs led by as many as 42 points and played the entire fourth quarter with the running clock mercy rule before winning 65-27. Saturday, the Bulldogs played a talented Lander at home and made quick work of the fourth-ranked Tigers, building a 37-point lead in the fourth quarter before clearing the bench in a 78-52 win.

“Really since the second half versus Worland we’ve been playing good basketball,” coach Shane Durtsche said. “This is how I envisioned things. I knew our team could play like this, and we can get better. We’re still getting better, but I think you’re starting to see some of the potential that we have.”

Players have been stepping up, Durtsche said, noting the play of seniors Owen Edwards and Kyle Wilson. Edwards has improved his decision-making from the wing, Durtsche said, and had just two turnovers in two games, while Wilson played strong inside.

“Kyle is starting to become the force inside that we knew he could be,” Durtsche said. “I think his confidence is coming. You can see him finishing at the rim, and he’s had back-to-back really good weekends now, though the poor kid got in foul trouble on senior night. But he bounced back, and on the weekend he was 10 for 10 from the floor.

“We are starting to come together and play like we can. And it’s really just been our energy and our defensive intensity. We’re making it very difficult on teams with our length and our athletic ability.”

Pinedale Wranglers

Lovell blew out Pinedale early, building a 21-1 lead before the Wranglers scored their first basket early in the second quarter. Edwards, Owen Walker and Wilson scored 4 points each in the first quarter as Lovell led 16-1 after one, and a three-point play by Walker and a drive and bank by Matthew Newman gave Lovell the 21-1 lead early in the second.

After Pinedale made it 21-4 with a basket and one of two at the foul line, the Bulldogs finished the first half with a 16-7 run as Lovell led at halftime 37-11. Walker scored 7 points during the run including a three-pointer from the corner by the 6-8 forward, showing his versatility.

The Bulldogs continued to pour it on in the third quarter, outscoring Pinedale 21-7 to reach the 40-point mark by the end of the quarter, 58-18. Seven players scored for the Bulldogs in the quarter. The running clock fourth was won by Pinedale 9-7 as the Bulldogs won 65-27.

Durtsche noted that Newman did a great job defensively against Pinedale star Matthew Gosar, who scores 20 points per game, holding Gosar to 6 points.

“Matthew is just so athletic,” Durtsche said. “He’s hard to get away from.”

Eleven players scored for the Bulldogs led by Walker with 17 points and Newman with 12. Edwards added 9, Wilson 6, Kaeson Anderson and Cash Wassmer 5 each, Jaxen Clark 4, Sam Mayes 3, Grant Hill 2 and Brody Muller and Joaquin Scheeler 1 each.

Durtsche noted that the Bulldogs beat Pinedale on the board 47-18 including 18 offensive rebounds. Walker grabbed 13 rebounds, Newman and Clark seven each, Edwards and Wassmer six apiece. Newman led with five assists.

“I have a lot of respect for Pinedale. They play hard. They beat Worland (the next day),” Durtsche said. “That was a little surprising to me, but those kids play hard and they can get hot. The key was to try to make things difficult on them, use our length. And we did a nice job of that.”

Lander Tigers

Fourth-ranked Lander presented more of a challenge on Saturday, but once again, a strong start helped the Lovell cause as the Bulldogs came out on fire. The Tigers were hanging tough trailing 18-10, but a solo 7-0 burst by Newman gave the Bulldogs a 25-10 lead at the quarter break. Anderson and Wilson added 6 points each in the quarter, Wilson working inside and Anderson draining a trey and converting a three-point play with a power drive and bank.

Lander is a talented team that can score in bunches, Durtsche noted, pointing out a 20-0 run against Worland the night before, though the Tigers ended up losing.

“I think their upside potential is very high. They’ve got some very nice players,” the coach said. “The McFadden kid (Finn) is a heck of a player, and the St. Clair kid (Noah) is crafty. They’ve got some nice pieces, and we kind of came out and swarmed them defensively.”

Anderson had the McFadden assignment and held the Lander junior to 3 points, while Walker defended St. Clair well, limiting the senior to 11.

Wilson kicked out to Newman for three to start the second quarter, and Lovell roared out to a 38-13 lead, then went on to lead 44-20 at halftime.

The Bulldogs poured it on in the third quarter, launching a 12-4 run to lead 56-24 as Newman blazed for two fast-break buckets, plus two at the line, Anderson slashed for two baskets and Edwards converted a steal for two. A late 7-2 mini burst left the Bulldogs up 67-33 after three.

Lovell led by 37 points twice in the fourth quarter before Durtsche cleared the bench and the Lander subs outscored the Lovell reserves 13-2 down the stretch to trim the final margin to 26 points, 78-52.

Newman led the high-octane Lovell offense with 18 points, and Anderson added 16, Wilson 14, Edwards and Walker 13 each, Mayes and Muller 2 apiece. Lovell shot the ball well Saturday, 55 percent from the field, and out-rebounded Lander 36-17.

“Matthew’s been on a different level. He’s pretty confident,” Durtsche said. “When that kid’s going like he’s going, when he’s getting up and down and playing with that energy, we’re going to be tough to beat.”

Walker snared 10 rebounds to lead the team, and Wilson had six. Anderson tallied six assists, Newman five and Wilson four.

Conference games

Now 15-2 overall, 5-0 in the 3A West, the Bulldogs play two more conference opponents this weekend, traveling to Worland tonight (Thursday) to meet the Warriors at 4 (JV) and 7 p.m., then hosting Cody Saturday at 1 and 4 p.m. for the final regular season home games of the season, though Lovell will also host the 3A West Regional Tournament March 5-7.

Worland (7-10, 2-3) beat Lander at home 57-52 Friday but fell to Pinedale on Saturday, 59-48. Cody (6-10, 3-2) crushed visiting Lyman 60-23 Friday and topped Mountain View Saturday, 50-41.

“Worland is a tough place to go play. They’re a very dangerous team,” Durtsche said. “They match up with us a little bit better than some with their size. We saw what they’re capable of. They beat us the second half here, and they’ll be healthy. Elias Mitchell will be back.

Cody’s still a team that I think is very dangerous. If they keep getting better, and it looks like they are, they’ll be a tough out. You always have to be ready to play Cody. They’re big, strong athletes. They match us pretty well with size and athletic ability, and they always play hard. So we’ll have to be ready both nights. This is a very challenging weekend for us.”