Milbank Wins Battle of the Bulldogs – First Time in 16 Years

There’s a new sheriff in town! Milbank traveled to Madison on Monday, February 19, for the annual Battle of the Bulldogs and captured the victory. Madison had won 15 battles in a row – the last time Milbank defeated Madison was in February 21, 2008. This year, Milbank was gunning for them and took them down 65-58.

The “W” also extended Milbank’s current winning streak to six. Logan Diede, head coach for Milbank, commented, “The boys have really been locked in, and making the little things an absolute priority, and it’s helped us a ton in the last handful of games. The ball has been moving, and a lot of guys have stepped up and hit big shots.” Diede also noted the team’s collective effort on the glass.

Joe Schulte shot lights out and scored a game-high 28 points. He added three assists. Jaxson Wildung and Graham Lightfield each put up 11. Wildung also made three assists and two steals. Garrett Mertens pitched in 10. He had five assists. Este Abrego-Gonzalez made three free throws and Braylen Bowsher made one basket. Schulte and Lightfield each nailed two 3-point bombs.

Wildung led Milbank with nine rebounds. Schulte latched onto eight. Lightfield had five. Mertens secured four. Abrego-Gonzalez got three. Sam Rick and Emmett Hanson each nabbed one.

The Bulldogs shot 46 percent overall, including 42 percent from behind the arc. They picked up 12 of 20 from the line for 60 percent.

Ben Brooks and Chuck Callahan led Madison. Brooks finished with 22 points, and Callahan followed with 21. Brooks was also Madison’s leading rebounder. He pulled down eight. Callahan had three, along with Eli Barger and Elijah Sims. Thomas Mechels made four assists.

The Madison cagers hit nearly 57 percent of their shots, including 29 percent from long range . Milbank didn’t give Madison an opportunity to stand at the stripe in the first half and only six chances in the second. Madison made two to finish at 33 percent.

Milbank–19—11—15—20—65
Madison–16—19—12—11—58

‌JV Game
Milbank 45 vs. Madison 48
The JV Milbank Bulldogs got nipped in the annual JV Battle of the Bulldogs. It was close. The score was knotted up at 22-22 going into the locker room at half time. Milbank then lagged behind at 39-33 at the beginning of the final quarter, and they couldn’t quite recover. The Milbank Dogs trailed by three at 48-45 at the final buzzer.

Jack Howard put up 10 points. Charlie Peery made nine – all 3-point bombs. Bryan Meyer scored seven, including a three-pointer. Emmett Hanson made six. Braylen Bowsher and Ryan Keeton each tossed in four points. Mason Meister and Sam Rick made a bucket apiece. Josh Pederson hit a free throw.

Milbank hit 18 of their 50 shot attempts to finish with a 36 percent average, including only four of 25 from beyond the arc. They hit five of 11 from the line for 46 percent.

Adonis Rodriguez racked up 16 points for Madison. Lincoln Anderson also made it into double figures with 10. Casyn Crabtree had nine. Brody Cummins and Shane Veenhof each scored five points. Tripp Hansen made three. Anderson led Madison in rebounding with seven. Rodriguez got six. The Madison Bulldogs landed 41 percent of their shots from the floor. They hit five of 14 from the charity stripe.

Milbank JV–11—11—12—11—45
Madison JV–17—5—17—9—48

‌C-Team
Milbank 32 vs. Madison 41
Milbank’s C-Team also took the loss in the Battle of the Bulldogs this year. During their scrap, Garrett Weber and Layten Osowski put up eight points apiece. Jaxson Wiese and Jeter Scoular each scored five. Harley Zemlicka made four, and Ethan Owen dropped in two free throws. Wiese and Scoular got credit for two assists each. Osowski and Owen made one apiece.

Weber and Zemlicka were Milbank’s leading rebounders. They controlled five apiece. Osowski grabbed four. Lance Engebretson and Owen each recorded three. Wiese hauled down one. Brody Finck was the top scorer for Madison. He cleared 15.

Milbank C-Team–9—11—4—8—32
Madison C-Team–13—3—14—11—41

What’s next? Milbank’s record now stands at 14-5 going into the last game of their regular season. They will face the Wambdi of Tiospa Zina (12-7) this Friday night, February 23, in Milbank. No C-Game will be played. JV starts at 6 p.m. Varsity tip-off is at 7:15 p.m. It’s also DARE Night.