Dawgs Down the Braves in NEC Basketball

The Milbank Bulldogs downed the Britton-Hecla Braves 64-59 on February 11 in a Northeast Conference boys basketball contest on the road. The Dawgs improved their season record to 9-7.

“I’m proud of our boys for their continued toughness and relentlessness in fighting through adversity and battling out tough games,” said Milbank’s head coach, Logan Diede. “It is more important this time of the year than ever.”

Milbank jumped out to an early 16-12 advantage at the end of the opening quarter. Britton-Hecla came back to take the lead at 29-28 at the midway mark. At the end the third period, the score was knotted up again at 46-46. In the final stanza, Milbank took charge and secured the victory at 64-59.

“Max McCulloch was huge for us, scoring around the rim and grabbing rebound after rebound,” said Diede. “He also added a variety of assists for our shooters to get open looks. Will Cummins hit some huge shots for us down the stretch, too. It was a great team win.”

Three Bulldogs scored in double figures. McCulloch led the way with a double-double. He scored 25 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. He also added four assists, three steals, and one blocked shot. Cummins followed with 17 points and three boards. Bennett Schwenn tallied 13 points, seven rebounds, and two assists.

Also adding to the totals for Milbank were: Carter Hartman, five points, one board, and one steal; Ryker Trevett, four points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals; Mason Riley, three rebounds and one assist; Evan Erickson, one rebound and one assist; and Karson Weber, one rebound.

Milbank fired in 45 percent of their shots from the field, hitting 22-of-49 attempts. The Dawgs snared 40 rebounds, had 10 assists, stole the ball nine times, blocked one Britton-Hecla shot, and committed 11 turnovers.

The Braves hit 22-of-55 from the field for 40 percent shooting. They finished the game with 29 rebounds, 10 steals, four assists, two blocked shots, and 10 turnovers.

File photo – MHS junior Mason Riley