Bulldogs Bite The Bearcats

The Milbank Area Bulldogs defeated the Webster Area Bearcats 59-34 in high school boys basketball action Thursday, December 22, at the Milbank Armory. The Dawgs improved to 3-2 this season with the victory.

At the end of the first quarter, Milbank Area held a five point lead at 16-11. Jonny Ash broke the game open with a three-pointer to start the second quarter. Cody Dockter followed with a field goal to widen the gap to 21-11. The Bulldogs struggled to make its shots throughout the rest of the period, but still maintained an 11-point advantage at 27-16 at the midway mark.

The Dawgs came out hot in the second half. Back-to-back three’s by Ash and Derrick Aho put Milbank Area ahead 34-18. Preston Morton found the hole for two and Riley Wollschlager drained a three to give Milbank Area a commanding 39-19 lead. The Bulldogs poured in 24 points in the third quarter to increase their lead to 51-23. The final score was 59-34.

“The guys did a great job of bouncing back from last week,” said Bulldog head coach Matt Bastian. “We put together two complete games at both ends of the floor. They defended in both games and ran the floor. We continue to play unselfish basketball and for a second straight game, we got everybody in the scoring column.”

Ash led Milbank Area with 16 points and 5 rebounds. Aho followed with 10 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Dockter tallied 7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal. Matt Lenards added 6 points, 4 boards, and 1 assist.

Also contributing for the Bulldogs were: Nate Bien, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal; Morton, 4 points and 2 rebounds; Wollschlager, 3 points, 1 assist, and 1 steal; James Weber, 3 points and 1 board; Mitch Quade, 2 points and 3 rebounds; and Jake Fox and Chandler Peery, 2 points each.

Milbank Area went 23-of-48 from the field for 48 percent shooting. The Bulldogs secured the victory with 39 rebounds, 10 assists, 5 steals, and just 8 turnovers.

Webster Area made 26 percent of its shots from the field – 10 of 38 attempts. The Bearcats finished the game with 23 rebounds, 5 steals, 1 assist, and 6 turnovers.

Milbank Area will be back in action after the Christmas holiday for the final game of the One Stop Basketball Shootout Thursday, December 29, at the Milbank Armory.

Pictured Above – Senior Matt Lenards