Bulldogs Finish Season in Semifinals 

The Bulldogs basketball team’s postseason run came to a close in the semifinals on the road against Groton on Friday, March 6.  Milbank put up 12 wins in the 2025-2026 season. The Bulldogs will say good-bye to five senior players: Braylen Bowsher, Jack Howard, Ryan Keeton, Ethan Owen, and Layten Osowski.

Logan Diede, head coach for MHS said, “We ran into a very good Groton team last night in the regional semifinal, and I’m incredibly proud of the way our boys competed from start to finish. They played hard, stayed together, and represented our program the right way. That’s one of the best teams in the state (Groton), and our guys kept giving everything they had.” 

Keeton led Milbank’s offense with 12 points, including three 3-pointers. He added three rebounds. Jeter Scoular scored seven points and made two assists. He also pulled down a rebound and added a steal. Lincoln Holscher scored five points and contributed three rebounds and a steal. Sam Rick made four points and two rebounds. Cade Grabow also made four points and two rebounds.  Howard led the Bulldogs with seven rebounds. He also made three assists and a steal. Bowsher was next with five rebounds. Osowski secured four rebounds and added two points. Owen made a steal.

Milbank made 20 percent of their shots from the floor. They connected for 17 percent from beyond the arc. The Dawgs downed 11 of 19 at the stripe for 58 percent.

“There was a lot of growth in our group over the season,” commented Diede. We were a group that did not have a ton of varsity playing experience coming into this season, and although the ball didn’t bounce our way a couple of times along the way, we kept giving everything we had, and the boys kept improving, which led to another winning season for Milbank Basketball.” 

Diede also said, “I’m proud of this program being a winner, doing things the right way, and continuing to build on a positive culture on and off the court. I’m very grateful to all of the players on this year’s team and the previous years that have dedicated themselves and bought in to make all of that a reality. The future is very bright!”

Groton came into the game with a 16-4 record. They will see six senior players graduate this spring: Keegen Tracy, Ryder Johnson, Becker Bosma, Gage Sippel, Jordan Schwann, and Logan Warrington.

Keegen led the Tigers against Milbank with 15 points and two assists. He also grabbed two rebounds. Karson Zak put up 13 points and one assist. He made four rebounds. Sippel added 12 points and six rebounds. Bosma had eight points and an assist. He also contributed five rebounds and one block. Jayden Schwann made three points and one rebound. Easton Weber had two points and three rebounds, and one block and a steal.  J.J. Muller put in two points. Ryder Schelle got a rebound. 

Groton made 49 percent of their shots from the floor. They hit 25 percent from long range. The Tigers downed 12 of 18 from the free throw line for 67 percent.

MILBANK     6     16     3     10     35
GROTON    19     17    15    10     61

Diede also commended and thanked the senior Bulldog players for their commitment and dedication to Milbank basketball over the years, “We will miss having you boys with us next year, but there’s no question you all have a bright future ahead! Also, a big thank you to my assistant coaches –Coach Lester and Coach Malone.”  He also thanked the statisticians and student managers for their time and dedication.