Bulldogs Rally for Comeback Victory

When 6’ 6” sophomore Lincoln Holscher of Milbank tipped off against 6’ 6” junior Kyle Finnesand of Deuel on Thursday, January 29, there was no indication a barn burner was brewing. The varsity girls had quickly demolished the Deuel girls 60-22, but the Bulldog boys got seriously behind at the beginning of their game.

The Cardinals got the tip and Troy Jenson started Deuel rolling with a bucket. Milbank traveled and Deuel got the ball back. The Cardinals waited until deep in the shot clock before they sank another two to lead 4-0. Jack Howard then sent a pass to Emmett Snaza, Snaza took it up and in to get the Bulldogs on the scoreboard. The Cardinals then lost the ball out of bounds. Holscher got fouled in the act of shooting, and he headed to the line. His first attempt was no good, but his second dropped in to close the gap to 4-3. 

Both teams turned over the ball. Sutton Benck of Deuel hit a baseline triple to put Deuel ahead 7-3. Snaza answered with a basket to get the Dawgs to 7-5.  The Cardinals missed a shot, but Jenson got the rebound for Deuel. A whistle away from the ball indicating a foul on Howard, briefly stopped the action.  The Cardinals fed Jenson the ball again and he went to the left for a fade-away jumper that put Deuel up 9-5. Ryan Keeton grabbed the rebound for the Bulldogs, headed down court, and aimed a three-pointer. It wouldn’t fall, and Jenson once again got the ball to score two more points. With 2:33 left on the clock in the first quarter, the Cardinals led the Bulldogs 11-5.

After a quick timeout, Milbank attempted two shots. The ball went out of bounds. Deuel then found a hole to land a field goal to put the Cardinals ahead 13-5. Holscher headed to the stripe again and sank them both to pull Milbank back to within six at 13-7. Benck of Deuel took a chance on a three-ball and it hit the mark. The Bulldogs were trailing by nine. Both teams missed shots. Bulldog Layten Osowski drew a foul in the act of shooting,and he stepped to the line. Osowski missed the front side, but hit the back to get Milbank to 16-8 at the end of the first quarter.

In the opening minutes of the second quarter, the Bulldogs remained a little cold — a couple of shots and a putback refused to fall. Nolan Gubrud of Deuel slipped in a bucket to put the Cardinals up by 10 at 18-8. Milbank also got nicked for double dribbling.  Deuel then missed a shot, and Howard picked up his second foul of the night. Finneson got the ball back. He hit a two. Rick also made a shot off the glass, but he got fouled on the play. His basket counted, and he went to the line for the extra shot, but it was too strong. The score sat at 20-10.

Braylen Bowsher picked up a foul for MIlbank. Deuel missed a shot, and the Bulldogs struggled a bit. The Cardinals put in a basket  to stretch Duel’s lead  to 22-10, but  Finneson committed his third foul of the game just halfway through the second quarter.  Holscher went to the line for two and hit the first. After the rebound,  Jenson made his way through the lane to put in a bucket and collect his eighth point of the night. The Bulldogs trailed 24-11. 

Keeton and Osowski tried to play catch up, but neither of their 3-pointers went in. Osowski fouled, but it was before Deuel’s shot. The Cardinals got the ball, but they were called for traveling. Milbank got the ball back, but copied Deuel and walked with the ball. The ball then rolled itself all the way down the court. A timeout was called with the score still sitting at 24-11.

Back on the court, Osowski hustled to get a quick two on a pass from Scoular. He brought the score to 24-13. The teams committed back-to-back offensive fouls. With 1:12 remaining in the half, Scoular sent a pass underneath to Osowski.  Osowski put it in to get the Bulldogs to 24-15. Milbank got a steal and Scoular got a bucket, but he was called for charging, and it didn’t count. Deuel also got clipped for another offensive foul. Scoular landed a basket, but he was fouled before the shot, and he went to the line instead.  Neither free throw would cooperate. The score stayed at 24-15 during halftime.

Scoular came back from the break fired up. He nailed a 3-pointer to start the third quarter and get Milbank to within six points at 24-18. Deuel blew a couple of shots. Milbank turned over the ball and then stole it back.The Cardinals hit an uncontested triple to return to a nine-point lead at 27-18. Howard made a valiant effort and saved the ball for the Dawgs off the leg of a Cardinal, but Milbank’s next shot failed to go in. Jaxtin Winter knocked in a three from the baseline. The score went to 30-18. The Bulldogs were behind by 12. 

Snaza replied with a field goal to pull Milbank back to within 10 with 3:41 on the clock. Deuel hit another two-pointer to move ahead 32-20. Scoular got to the line when Jenson picked up his third foul of the night. Scoular claimed both free throws.The score was 32-22. 

Holscher missed a shot, Jenson’s three- ball fell way short, Scoular picked up his second foul, and Rick got a bucket to get Milbank to 32-24. Scoular pulled off a steal and carried it all the way down and up and in. He also got bumped enough to go to the line for the And-One. It was also good. The Bulldogs had rallied to within five points at 32-28 and within striking distance of the Cardinals. 

Deuel was obviously feeling the pressure –both from Milbank’s D and their flurry of offense. The Cardinals lost control of the ball.  Milbank took possession and took their time looking for a shot, but Deuel Brax  fouled Rick when he went for it.  B. Winter picked up his third foul and Rick went to the stripe. Rick’s first one rolled in. The second one also dropped through the net. The Bulldogs had fought their way back by outscoring the Cardinals 14-8. The score  was 32-29, and it was a one-possession game just as the third quarter ended.

The fourth quarter was also worth the price of admission. Deuel’s first shot was too strong. Holscher got the ball and missed his shot, but he made the putback. Milbank trailed by just one point at 32-31. The Bulldogs were on the move, but Deuel’s Finneson also ended the Cardinal’s dry spell with a field goal at 6:57. It didn’t take long, though, for Holscher to let a triple fly from the pocket and tie the game at 34-34 with 5:36 remaining. 

Howard went for a 3-pointer, but no dice. His putback also wouldn’t go, but he drew the foul. Howard  missed his first free throw, but secured the second to finally give Milbank the lead at 35-34.  Bulldog fans were ecstatic!  Finneson silenced the uproar with a two-point bucket to put the Cardinals up again at 36-35. Osowski’s next shot was no good, and Rick’s put back was partially blocked. Holscher then hit a two to swing things back in favor of the  Dawgs at 37-36 with 4:34 to go in the game. The Cardinals attempted to score, but Osowski stood his ground and Finneson charged in to rack up his fourth personal foul. 

Still at 37-36, Rick hit the floor hard, but was cited for traveling. Deuel got the ball, but came up empty, and Rick sailed in for a basket to put the Bulldogs up by three at 39-36 with 2:52 to go.  Howard again performed his  off-the-leg-of-the-Cardinal trick to save the ball from going out of bounds. With 2:28 on the clock, Coach Diede used a timeout to talk.

Whatever the coach said, must have been good, because the Dawgs controlled the ball deep into the shot clock before Rick pulled the trigger on a triple. It was good,and it was huge! Milbank was suddenly ahead 42-36. It  was a two-possession game. 

Benck wasn’t ready to pull the plug just yet, though. He dropped in a 2-pointer at 1:29 to pull the Cardinals within four at 42-38. Jenson picked up his fourth foul to send Scoular to the line. Scoular had no trouble sinking them both. The Bulldogs were back to a six-point lead at 44-38.  A tie-up ensued and the possession arrow favored Milbank. Rick caught the toss-in, but he was fouled and missed both shots. Holscher also went to the line and couldn’t collect his free shots. Milbank then committed their first team foul in the fourth quarter. At 32 seconds to go in the game, Deuel also missed a key shot.

Keeton got his turn to stand at the line for Milbank. His timing was impeccable as he hit his first point of the night to push Milbank ahead 45-38. Keeton’s second attempt also dropped in to get the Bulldogs to safety at 46-38. 

After another timeout, with  21.6 seconds left on the clock, Deuel had the ball, but didn’t score. Howard got fouled on the rebound and B. Winter fouled out of the game, and headed to the Deuel bench. Howard missed his shots, but at seven seconds remaining, Deuel threw up a last chance shot that fell far from the mark. The Bulldogs had risen from the ashes to take the win at 46-38. 

MILBANK     8     7     14     17     46
DEUEL        16    8      8       6       38

Holscher and Rick each scored a game-high 11 points for the Bulldogs. Rick added two assists. Scoular also scored in double figures at 10 points. He made two assists. Snaza made six points. Osowski put up five. Keeton had two points. Howard made one point and added two assists.

Howard led the team with eight rebounds. Holscher hauled down seven. Osowski got four. Scoular and Snaza each grabbed three. Keeton and Braylen Bowsher got two boards apiece. Rick made one. Holscher and Snaza each made a block.

Milbank hit 14 of 45 of their shots from the floor for 31 percent. The Bulldogs made 30 percent from beyond the arc. They collected  

53 percent of their free throws.

Benck scored 10 points for Deuel. He added two assists. Jenson made eight points and five assists. Finnesand made eight points. Gubrud made seven points and three assists. J. Winter made three points and one assist. B. Winter made two points and one assist. 

Jenson led the Cardinals in rebounds. He had eight. J.

Winter pulled down four rebounds. Finnesand had three rebounds. Benck had two. B. Winter and Gubrud each grabbed one.

Deuel hit 35 percent of  their shots from the floor. They made 33 percent from long range. The Bulldogs gave the Cardinals zero trips to the free throw line.