Victory Was In Sight For Bulldog Cagers

A high school boys basketball victory was within reach Friday night, but slipped away as the Milbank Area Bulldogs dropped to the Deuel Cardinals 55-51 and fell to 5-14 on the season.

Milbank Area put together a solid first half of play. The locals trailed by just three points at 12-9 at the end of the first quarter. The Dawgs fired back with 22 points in the second quarter and held its opponent to just eight points to overtake the lead at 31-20 at the midway mark.

The teams played fairly evenly throughout the third period, and Milbank Area led 42-34 heading into the final stanza. Deuel answered with 21 points in the fourth quarter while the Bulldogs struggled and could not hold on for the victory.

“I’m not sure we have put together a more complete 20 minutes in any game then we did to start this game Friday night,” stated Bulldog head coach Matt Bastian. “Unfortunately, we didn’t finish them when we had a chance and allowed them and their crowd to get back into the game. It has been a long time since we have been in a position to finish a team in the third quarter. That will be something we will have to learn how to do.”

Three players scored in double figures for Milbank Area. Jacob Jackson led the Bulldogs with 15 points and six rebounds on the night. Jonny Ash followed with 13 points and seven rebounds while Nate Bien added 11 points and three rebounds. Nolan Foss tallied five points and seven boards. Mitch Quade rounded out the scoring for the Dawgs with five points and two rebounds.

Also adding to the totals for Milbank Area were Isaac Snaza, one rebound; Matt Lenards, one rebound and two assists, and Cody Dockter, three rebounds and one steal.

Milbank Area went 18 for 45 from the field for 29 percent shooting on the night. The Bulldogs finished the game with 37 rebounds, three steals, two assists and 10 turnovers.

Deuel had a solid offensive night with 49 percent shooting. The Cardinals went 20 for 41 from the field and won the game with 17 rebounds, nine steals, one assist and just four turnovers.