Dawgs Battle Clark-Willow Lake

The Milbank Area Bulldogs fought hard in a Northeast Conference high school basketball battle with Clark-Willow Lake January 13, but came up short at 65-47. The Dawgs dropped to 4-7 for the season.

“We had a great start to the game offensively,” stated Bulldog head coach Matt Bastian. “However, we allowed them to get off to a good start, too. We need to improve our defense in order to slow down a team like Clark-Willow Lake. I know the score looks lopsided, but we are right there with these teams. We just need to clean a few things up to win games like this.”

Milbank Area trailed by just three points at 19-16 at the end of the opening period. The Bulldogs struggled in the second quarter and scored just 7 points while the Cyclones poured in 20. Milbank Area remained behind at 39-23 at the midway mark. Both teams added 10 points to their totals in the third quarter, which moved the score to 49-33 heading into the final stanza. Although the Dawgs were outscored by only 2 points in the final quarter, the first half lead led to their demise. The final score was 65-47.

Mitch Quade led the Bulldogs with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Cody Dockter tallied 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. Preston Morton added 8 points and 2 rebounds. Nate Bien contributed 6 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Matt Lenards chipped in 4 points and 2 rebounds.

Adding to the team totals for Milbank Area were: Riley Wollschlager, 3 points and 1 steal; James Weber, 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal; Jordan Riley, 2 points and 2 rebounds; Jonny Ash, 1 rebound and 1 steal; Derrick Aho, 1 steal, and Jake Fox, 1 rebound.
Milbank Area went 20-of-57 from the field for 35 percent shooting. The Bulldogs finished the game with 31 rebounds, 15 steals, 4 assists, and 18 turnovers.

Clark-Willow Lake made 42 percent of their shots from the field, hitting 22 of 53 attempts. The Cyclones secured the victory with 42 rebounds, 15 steals, 5 assists, and 15 turnovers.

The Bulldogs will travel to Hayti Thursday, January 19, to take on the Hamlin Chargers. Milbank Area will host Castlewood Saturday, January 21, at the Milbank Armory.