Back to Back: Bulldogs defend regional title at home

With the proverbial target squarely on their back, the Lovell Bulldogs received strong challenges as they hosted the 3A West Regional Tournament over the weekend, but with the pressure on, they met the challenge to capture their second consecutive regional title.

Coming in as the top seed, the Bulldogs easily dispatched eighth seeded Lyman Thursday evening at Winterholler Gym, 75-42, then faced four seed Lander in the semifinals Friday night. Lander had crushed Worland 65-40 in the Tigers’ first game and gave the Bulldogs a battle before Lovell pulled out a solid 62-41 win.

With a state tournament berth secured, the Bulldogs met third seed Pinedale, a team that played at a high level during the tournament and upset second seed Cody in the semis, 43-34. Pinedale gave the Bulldogs a run, but the home team prevailed in the end, 62-50, to improve to 23-2 on the season and head to State in Casper as the top seed out of the West.

“Clearly, that target is on our back, and thinking about each game, even Lyman came out and battled us,” Lovell head coach Shane Durtsche said. “This is what you’re going to face, though. You know these teams are coming after you. They don’t have anything to lose. And especially Lander and Pinedale, both of those teams are pretty scary basketball teams. As I’ve said all along, Lander was probably the second most talented team, at least on our side, and they showed that. But then Pinedale, man, I was very impressed with them. That’s the hardest they’ve battled us in the last couple years.”

Durtsche said there’s a different kind of pressure being the underdog compared to the favored team, having been in both positions. He recalled that the Bulldogs nearly beat favored and undefeated Powell in the regional title game two years ago, and now the pressure is on them, with Pinedale playing without pressure.

“This year, Pinedale, in that championship game, had absolutely nothing to lose,” Durtsche said. “They are going to the state tournament. They’ve already maybe achieved more than what some thought to be in the regional championship, so go out and play and let it fly. Kudos to them and to Coach (Bizzy) Gosar. She’s done a great job with those boys. (I have) respect for my friendly opposing coach, because those kids played their tails off. But for us, we didn’t have our best, but we were good enough.”

Showing the team depth, Durtsche noted that several players stepped up at different times to carry the Bulldogs to victory, including Kyle Wilson scoring big against Lander, defense by Owen Edwards, clutch shooting by Kaeson Anderson, spurts by Matthew Newman and Owen Walker and Sam Mayes, Brody Muller and Jaxen Clark off the bench. 

“That’s what very good teams do,” the coach said. “That’s what makes us difficult. A team has to have a very good night, and they’ve got to be clicking on all cylinders. And sometimes we have enough good players that you might have a couple that aren’t having their best game, and then you have a Kyle Wilson step up and give you 14 points on seven-of-eight shooting. Every single kid stepped up at a different time and when needed.”

Lovell 75, Lyman 42

The Bulldogs had a bit of a slow start against Lyman Thursday night, leading 16-13 following a Lyman three-pointer and 19-13 at the quarter break thanks to a slashing basket and free throw by Walker.

A deep three-pointer by Anderson followed by a second Anderson trey in transition on a pass from Newman was a sign of good things to come early in the second quarter as the Bulldogs heated up to outscore Lyman 29-5 in the quarter, dominating at both ends of the floor. Anderson drained four treys in the quarter, Edwards and Mayes one each, as the Bulldogs sizzled from downtown.

“We talked to them (between quarters) about being a little bit more on the attack mode offensively and looking for that inside-out game,” Durtsche said. “We said ‘let’s get some post touches first, and then kick-outs to, like, Kaeson.’ In the first quarter we were playing really sped-up offensively. Even though we scored 19 points, we were struggling a little bit just to get the good shots.”

The Bulldogs put their game on cruise control in the second half, outscoring Lyman 11-9 in the third quarter and 16-15 in the fourth.

Lovell shot 51 percent from the field in the game and a blazing 55 percent from three-point range, while Lyman shot 31 percent and 25 percent, respectively, in the two categories.

Anderson finished with 22 points for the Bulldogs, hitting six three-pointers, and Walker added 16, Edwards 13, Newman 8, Mayes 5, Joaquin Scheeler 4, Rocco Rael 3, Cash Wassmer and Wilson 2 apiece. Walker snared 10 rebounds for a double-double, and Anderson grabbed seven caroms, Newman and Wilson four each. Newman dished for nine assists.

Lovell 62, Lander 41

Lovell battled a red-hot Lander team in the semifinals Friday night and gradually pulled away to win. Three-pointers by Pax Hollingshead and Noah St. Clair put Lander up 12-10 late in the first quarter before a drive and free throw by Anderson put Lovell on top at the quarter break, 13-12. Walker splashed a three-pointer to start the second quarter, and Lovell never trailed again, though the game remained relatively tight. Lovell won the second 13-6 to lead 26-18 at halftime.

“Lander is a scary basketball team, and I’ll repeat it, I thought they were the next most talented team in our league,” Durtsche said. “And so what you saw Friday night is what I would expect from them. They came out and played, and they’ve got some kids that can flat out play and have a high basketball IQ.”

 “Noah Sinclair goes for 24 and just has a great night. He’s an athlete, and he’s crafty, a lefty with a good touch around the rim.”

The Bulldogs pulled away in the second half, outscoring Lander 20-10 and 16-13 in the two quarters, propelled by seniors Newman and Wilson. Wilson scored 12 of his 14 points in the half while Newman turned on the jets for 11 points, taking the ball strong to the basket with flying drives.

“Matthew came out and was aggressive, and that changed the game,” Durtsche said. “I think a lot of that was just Matthew settling in early. … And Kyle was big that night, just gave us some timely buckets. Again, he was seven of eight from the floor, both inside and hitting that little 15-foot jumper.”

Durtsche also gave Anderson credit for shutting down Lander senior Finn McFadden, holding him to 6 points.

Newman led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points, and Walker and Wilson scored 14 each, Anderson 11, Mayes 4 and Edwards and Wassmer 2 apiece. Walker dominated the glass, grabbing 16 rebounds. Newman led the team with six assists.

Lovell 62, Pinedale 50

Pinedale came into the title game on a roll, having dispatched Mountain View and Cody in the first two rounds with a high-energy attack that featured guards Trace Fildey, Braxton Costello and Matthew Gosar.

Fildey was the surprise but perhaps Pinedale’s best player, Durtsche said. The senior scored 20 points including a Steph Curry rainbow three-pointer to end the first quarter that put Pinedale up 19-16 after one.

“I thought it was gonna hit the ceiling, he put so much arch on that,” Durtsche noted.

A trey by Jensen Wright and two baskets by Fildey boosted the Wrangler lead to 26-18 in the second quarter, but back-to-back treys by Newman and Walker cut the lead to two. A free throw by Walker and a corner trey by Newman on an assist from Anderson gave Lovell the lead at 28-26. Lovell went on to lead 32-29 at halftime.

Pinedale regained the lead, 33-32, early in the third quarter, and when Anderson gave Lovell the lead back 35-33 on a corner three-pointer moments later, Lovell fans and coaches held their collective breaths when the sharpshooter rolled his ankle after the shot while backpedaling toward the Lovell bench and hobbled off the court.

Fortunately, after trainer Cammie Brost worked her magic to tape and stabilize the ankle, Anderson returned and later hit two more clutch treys. While Anderson was being worked on, Edwards drained a trey, and Walker closed the quarter with two power follow shots. Lovell led 42-39 after three.

A corner trey by Newman on a pass from Anderson put Lovell up 45-39 early in the fourth quarter, and after a dry spell that produced just three free throws over a four-minute span, a corner trey by Anderson put Lovell up 51-44 with 3:07 left. Pinedale hung tough with three free throws and a trey, but Anderson’s sixth triple of the game kept Lovell in front.

Walker took over down the stretch, hitting a follow hook shot and two powerful fast-break dunks that brought the house down. An 8-0 final run left Lovell with a 62-50 win and back-to-back regional titles.

Looking back, Durtsche said Pinedale certainly played well, but the Bulldogs also didn’t take advantage of their size advantage by attacking the rim during portions of the game, noting, “We’ve got a 6-8 and a 6-7 kid, and we did not do a good enough job of attacking them inside out. We settled for a lot of threes and even jump shots.”

Durtsche gave credit to his brother, assistant coach Steven, for suggesting a 1-3-1 zone for the Bulldogs that shut Pinedale down in the final few minutes and led to steals and fast breaks.

“I was very pleased with the way we finished (the game),” Durtsche added. “The way they closed that game and finished that game is the mark of a champion. I mean, that’s what you do, right? They imposed their will when they needed to, and a lot of kids showed some resilience. I think it only helps us going into this weekend to have games like that, because you’re going to get people’s best shot.”

Durtsche said he was pleased to win the tournament before the home crowd, noting the raucous atmosphere of the gym in the championship game in particular, calling the crowd noise deafening at times.

“It was awesome to be able to do this at home, especially to cap it off with a win in an exciting fashion like that,” he said. “But just to be able to have a tournament like that at home, and stay at your home, you don’t have to worry about when your next meal is and the coordinating. It was a lot of fun for me as well and for the boys. So what a way to cap off their home career.”

He noted that the senior class has gone undefeated at home over the last two seasons.

Neither team shot the ball particularly well Saturday – 35 percent for Lovell and 37 percent for Pinedale, though the Bulldogs hit five more three-pointers. Lovell owned the boards, out-rebounding Pinedale 41-22.

Anderson finished with 21 points, Walker 16 and Newman 13. Edwards added 5, Muller 3, Mayes and Wilson 2 apiece. Walker and Newman each tallied 11 rebounds, Wilson seven and Muller five. Newman had seven assists.

State tournament

 The Bulldogs will open defense of their state championship against Buffalo today (Thursday) at 1:30 p.m. at the Ford Wyoming Center. Buffalo went into the 3A East Regional Tournament as the top seed and host team but finished fourth with a 2-2 record. The Bison beat Glenrock 69-44, fell to Torrington 57-45, beat Rawlins 65-54 and fell to Wheatland 58-56.

Durtsche said the Bison like to get up and down the court at a fast pace and shoot three-pointers.

“They’re a very capable team, a very scary team,” he said. “We haven’t played them since the year before I got here. I watched a little film on them this weekend, and they’re similar in some ways to Pinedale, maybe guard oriented. They like to shoot the three, and they have some athletes.

“They do have a big kid that’s pretty tough that was hurt and came back this year, and that’s kind of when they started to play better. They’re young overall. I think they only start one senior, but they’ll get after you.”

Durtsche said the Bison (16-8) are led by East Conference player of the year Hayden Geis (#10), who averages around 16 points per game, and the center is Will Finkle (#15), who averages 10 points per contest. Senior Wacy Lambert (#22) also averages around 10 ppg and is the top rebounder. Luken Smith (#0), Jace Townsend (#5) and Johnny Rosalez (#12) average 7 points plus.

If the Bulldogs win, they will play the winner of the Torrington-Lander game at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Casper College. A loss to Buffalo would drop the Bulldogs into a noon game Friday against the Lander-Torrington loser at the college. If the Bulldogs win two, they will play for the state championship Saturday afternoon at the Ford Wyoming Center.

Other first-round matchups are Pinedale vs. Wheatland (6:30 p.m.) and Douglas vs. Worland (8 p.m.) at the Ford Wyoming Center.

“At state, you’d better be ready. And anybody can beat anybody,” Durtsche said. “But we just need to be us. I’ve been saying that to the kids all year. We just need to go be us. We need to play, and we’re always worried about the other team, but I’m more concerned with what we’re doing.”