Bulldogs Catch Fire With 12 Three-Pointers to Kick the Burros

The Bulldogs and the Burros of Hillsboro, North Dakota, tangled in a dramatic  performance in the Milbank Armory on Saturday afternoon, January 10.  If you didn’t make it to the  game, you missed the greatest show in town. It included a half-court circus shot by Jeter Scoular – a buzzer beater at the end of the first half – and a 20-point come-from-behind rally by the Burros in the fourth quarter. It also  featured a dozen 3-point bombs from the Bulldogs.and a down-to-the-wire finish. Popcorn was optional.

Bulldog Jack Howard was nicked for two personals in the opening minutes of play, but otherwise the game started typically. The teams traded points and tied at 5-5. Hillsboro-Central Valley’s Bryce Miller hit a 3-point shot. Milbank’s Lincoln Holscher answered with a 3-point bucket.  The score was knotted up at 8-8. Holscher knocked in another 3-pointer to  put Milbank  ahead at 11-8, but the Burros tied it up again at 11-11. The Bulldogs then used an old-fashioned three point play – a bucket and free throw – to take the score to 14-11. When Hillsboro headed the other way and turned it over, Jeter Scoular took it down court and fed it to Holscher. Holscher’s field goal ended the first quarter with the score at 16-11 in favor of the Dawgs.

Scoular started the second quarter with a 3-point swisher to move the score to 19-11. Burro Brody Rogenes hit a two and also drew a foul. He made his first attempt to move the scoreboard to 19-14. Rogenes also hit his second free throw, but the Burros were clipped for a lane violation, and the point didn’t count. 

With 5:18 to go in the first, Howard maneuvered the ball deep into the shot clock before he shipped it to Sam Rick, who pumped it in from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs were up 22-14. Holscher powered in another 3-pointer – his 14th point of the game– and set the Bulldogs up at 25-14.  Aptly named Trey Johnson answered with a trey for Hillsboro and the Burros tightened the gap to 25-17. Hillsboro added another basket to get to 25-19.

Scoular hit his second triple of the day to push Milbank ahead at 28-19. The Bulldogs then sent Hillsboro to the line, and they secured one of their two free shots. On the next play, Rick made a long ball to put the Bulldogs ahead 31-20. The Burros headed to the stripe again and collected one of their set of two. 

At 31-21, Rick got the nut to Layten Osowski. Osowski used  it for two. Rick followed with a 3-pointer.The Burros responded with two points. The score then sat at 36-23. Still on fire, Holscher racked up another triple. With under a minute to go in the second quarter,  Miller hit the target for three points. Holscher answered with two. Hillsboro dropped in another quick two. The score sat at 41-26 as time was running out.  Everybody assumed it would stay at 41-26  until after the break, but Emmett Snaza  launched a cannon ball from half court. It went right through the rim! The Bulldogs upped their lead by three more points to 44-26 at halftime.

The third quarter started for Milbank with Holscher putting in two – including his 21st point of the game. Hillsboro added six points, Holscher hit a free throw, and Rick made a jumper – his 16th point of the game. Miller also secured two free throws for Hillsboro to take the score to 50-36. Scoular then hit a triple for Milbank. Hillsboro missed two free throws. Scoular hit his third  triple of the day, and the Bulldogs added a field goal to finish the third with a cushy 58-36 lead.

In the fourth quarter, however, Johnson knew his team had a tiger by the tail, and he came back onto the court ready to take control for the Burros. Johnson landed a three-point shot to take the score to 58-39, and Alexander Dufner hit a field goal to move the score to 58-41. The Burros intercepted the ball on a  Milbank throw-in and got a quick basket to move the needle to 58-43. Hillsboro also went to the charity line to down two before Johnson scored another basket to inch the Burros to 47 points. 

Osowski broke the spell with a bucket to get the Bulldogs back on the board at  60, but Dufner followed with a three-pointer to pull the Burros to 50. It had been a 14-2 run by HIllsboro. The Burros had also kept pressure on Milbank with their full-court man-to-man defense. With 3:40 remaining in the game, the Bulldogs looked a little rattled. 

Hillsboro, capitalizing on the Bulldogs’ sudden discomfort, sent Johnson out to shoot a three to make it 60-53. The Burros added a lay-up to get to 55 points. They also stepped to the line to make both shots and dislodge MIlbank fans from their seats when the scoreboard lit up 60-57.

Scoular then got his turn at the stripe.  His first shot rattled in. The second one was also good. The Bulldogs led 62-57. With 46 seconds to go, Hillsboro scored two points to get them back to a one-possession game at 62-59. 

Howard made his way to the line. The front half of two went up and in. His first point of the game couldn’t have come at a better time! Bulldog fans breathed a sigh of relief as Milbank pulled away with a four-point lead at 63-59. Howard’s second free throw was also good to get the Dawgs to 64-59. With 1.1 second on the clock, the Burros scored, but that basket would prove to be their last two points of the game. The Bulldogs closed the Big Top down with a victory at 64-61. After an admirable effort, the Burros were forced to pack up and move to another town. 

Holscher scored a game-high 25 points for Milbank – 19 of those came in the first half. He downed five triples. Rick followed with 16 points, three assists, and two steals. He knocked down three triples. Scoular made 14 points and seven assists. He also hit three 3-point shots. Osowski put up four points and secured a steal. Snaza made three points. Howard had two. Ryan Keeton added four assists.

Holscher led the Bulldogs in rebounds.He grabbed six. Howard was next with three. Rick, Scoular and Snaza each got two.

Milbank made nearly 66 percent of their shots from the floor. They nailed an outstanding 71 percent of their shots from downtown. The Bulldogs  downed six of eight from the free throw line to finish at 75 percent. Milbank also improved their season record to 5-2.

The Burros leading scorers were Miller with 19 and Johnson with 17. Dufner contributed 10 points. Chase Haffley made nine. Tyson Leshuk scored four points. Rogenes put up two. Haffley also secured four rebounds for Hillsboro. Leshuk and Dufner got three. Jaren Reed grabbed two. Miller, Johnson, and Austin Cotton got one apiece.

Hillsboro made nearly 48 percent of their shots.They hit 39 percent from long range. At the stripe, they sank 14 of 20 attempts for 70 percent.

Logan Diede, head coach for the Bulldogs commented, “We had a very tough Hillsboro-Central Valley team from North Dakota in our game on Saturday. They are one of the more physical, big, and skilled teams on our schedule. They play a very tough schedule in North Dakota, so their wins don’t show it, but they are rock solid and extremely physical. We had an amazing first half shooting the ball, something we know we are capable of, but we just hadn’t done it yet this season. “

“Our guys stayed locked in and made a handful of winning plays in the final 50 seconds to give us the ability to secure the win,” Diede added. “Last week we got better, and we look forward to the week ahead to continue that process!’

MILBANK         16     28     14     6     64

HILLSBORO    11     17      8     25     61