Dawgs Face Tough Competition on the Court

Milbank 38 – Dell Rapids 64
Milbank hosted Dell Rapids Saturday, February 8, at the Milbank Armory in a rescheduled high school boys basketball matchup. The Quarriers proved too much for the Bulldogs to handle. Milbank fell 64-38.

“We had a tough one against one of the best teams Class A has to offer,” stated Milbank’s head coach, Logan Diede. “It was a good experience for our young men. One that we will use to be better moving forward.”

Milbank got out to a slow start and trailed 4-13 after the opening period. The Bulldogs continued to struggle in the second quarter and remained behind at 11-30 at the midway mark. Milbank again trailed 22-50 heading into the final stanza and could not overcome the deficit.

Max McCulloch led Milbank with a double-double. He scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. He was also credited with a steal. Stevie Ash followed with seven points, one rebound, and one assist. Will Cummins and Kellen Hoeke chipped in with three points each. Cummins snared one rebound and Hoeke added one board and one assist.

Six Bulldogs dropped in two points apiece: Evan Erickson had two points and one rebound; Mason Riley, two points; Bennett Schwenn, two points, seven rebounds, one assist and one steal; Ryker Trevett, two points, three rebounds, and one steal; Karson Weber, two points and one steal; and Tanner Mertens, two points and three boards. Cade Howard contributed one point, two rebounds, and one assist, and Carter Hartman had one rebound.

Milbank made 25 percent of their shots from the field, hitting 12-of-48 attempts. The Bulldogs grabbed 34 rebounds and had seven steals and four assists. They committed 13 turnovers.

Dell Rapids fired in 43 percent of their shots from the field. They hit 22-of-51 attempts. The Quarriers wrapped up the night with 42 rebounds, 13 steals, and four assists. They committed nine turnovers.

Milbank 77, Redfield-Doland 62
In a high scoring Northeast Conference contest, Milbank outdid their opponent, Redfield-Doland, 77-62 in a road game on Friday, February 7. “I am very happy with our boys’ focus and effort against Redfield,” said the Bulldogs’ head coach, Logan Diede. “It was a good win to go on the road and beat a quality conference and region opponent.”

The Dawgs started out on fire and poured in 20 points to take the lead at 20-16 in the first quarter. Milbank remained on top 39-35 at halftime. The Bulldogs increased their lead to 55-47 in the third period, and fired in 22 points in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

Four players for Milbank scored in double figures. Schwenn led the way with 21 points, five rebounds, and one assist. Cummins followed with 16 points, three rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Hartman tallied 14 points, three boards, two assists, and one blocked shot. McCulloch chipped in with 11 points, five rebounds, and two steals.

Also contributing for the Bulldogs were: Erickson, eight points, one rebound, and two assists; Trevett, five points, three rebounds, four assists, and one steal; and Riley, two points, four rebounds, and four assists.

Milbank dropped in 58 percent of their shots from the field, making 30-of-52 attempts. The Dawgs snared 32 rebounds, had 16 assists, nine steals, and one blocked shot. They committed 11 turnovers.

Redfield-Doland connected on 26-of-51 from the field for 51 percent shooting. The Pheasants pulled down just 19 rebounds. They also had 10 steals, four assists, and one blocked shot. They committed 10 turnovers.

Milbank 37, Tiospa Zina 74
Milbank fell short against a tough Tiospa Zina team on Tuesday, February 4, at Agency Village. The Bulldogs lost 74-37.

“Tiospa Zina is one of the better teams in Class A,” said Milbank’s head coach, Logan Diede. “They can do everything really well, and all of their players are interchangeable.”

The Dawgs trailed the Wambadi 14-11 after one quarter of play. Trouble for the Bulldogs began in the second period when they scored just four points, and TZ fired in 21 points. TZ led 15-35 at the midway mark. In the second half, Milbank remained behind at 27-56 heading into the final stanza and eventually took the loss.

McCulloch led Milbank with 13 points, nine rebounds, three steals, and one assist. Schwenn followed with 10 points, three steals, and one assist. Ash chipped in six points. Trevett was close behind with five points, three boards, two assists, and one steal. Cummins scored three points, snagged one rebound, made one assist, and blocked one shot.

Milbank connected on 14-of-44 from the field for 32 percent shooting. The Dawgs hit just 3-of-16 from three-point land. They finished the game with 23 rebounds, nine steals, six assists, one blocked shot, and 17 turnovers.

Tiospa Zina poured in 29-of-55 shots from the field for 53 percent shooting. The Wambadi hit 8-of-19 of their shots behind the three-point line (42 percent). TZ ended the game with 36 rebounds, 17 steals, three assists, two blocked shots, and just 11 turnovers.

File photo – MHS sophomore Karson Weber