Pictured is Braden Williams
Last Friday, January 15, the Waldron Sr Bulldogs traveled to Hackett to play the second of three consecutive road games. The Hornets were coming off a huge win against Charleston on Tuesday and the Bulldogs were coming off a great road win at Booneville. The Bulldogs defense showed up again and for the second consecutive game only allowed on FG in the first quarter. Gada Wagner would start the night off with a 3-pt basket. Cash Oliver then answered with a lay-up but that would be the Hornet’s only FG of the quarter. Bryson Bailey got a 17-1 run started on a drive and dish from Jaden Hutchens.
Isaac “The Real” Villarreal played on to score the next 4 points. Gada Wagner added a scoop lay-up and Braden Williams finished through contact after a steal. Bryson Bailey then added to the scoring with a steal of his own and completed a three-point play after an and-one basket. Bryson Bailey would hit two free throws to end the quarter and extend the Bulldog lead to 17, 20-3.
The second quarter started off with an Oliver basket for the Hornets but Wagner would knock down his second three of the night on the next possession for the Bulldogs. After a steal and score for Wagner, the Dogs were up 25-5. Fisher Shipman got on the board for the Hornets with a jumper inside. The Bulldogs would use a 13-3 sparked by Camdon Holcomb. Then after two Villarreal free-throws, Jayden McConnell went on to hit a deep three. Jayden Hutchens would end the first-half scoring and the Bulldogs took a 38-10 lead to the half.
The Hornets came out hot in the third quarter behind three, Austin Cowell, 3-pointers to make the score 39-19. Bailey would get a two-point basket for the Bulldogs to stop the Hornett run and start a 10-0 run for the Bulldogs to end the third quarter 49-19. Jesse Dees got the 4th quarter underway by scoring for the Dogs. After two made free throws by Cowell for the Hornets, Holcomb and McConnell would score back to back baskets to extend the Bulldog lead, 55-21.
The Hornets would end the game on a 7-0 run to make the final score 55-28 Waldron. “Waldron caused a lot of matchup issues for us and we just were not able to adjust,” explained Hackett Coach Kent Elmore. “They did a great job firing on all cylinders. My guys did a great job of not giving up. We look forward to getting back on track this Friday when we take on Danville.”
The Bulldogs shot 49% from the field while holding the Hornets to 31%. The Bulldogs were able to turn 27 Hornet turnovers (15 steals) into 25 points on the night. Leading the way for the Bulldogs was Gada Wagner with 16 points and Bryson Bailey with 9. Isaac Villarreal pitched in 8 points and Braden Williams added 7 to the Bulldog total. Coach Brown stated that he “was impressed by the defensive effort this week and that is something that we can build on as we get closer to the second rotation of conference.” The Bulldogs moved to 13-5 on the year and 5-1 in conference play while Hackett sits 3-7 overall and 2-4 in conference.
Box Score:
Waldron 20 18 11 6 –55
Hackett 3 7 9 9 –28
Waldron– Gada Wagner (16), Bryson Bailey (9), Isaac Villarreal (8), Braden Williams (7), Camdon Holcomb (6), Jayden McConnell (5), Jaden Hutchens (2), Jesse Dees (2)–55
Hackett–Austin Cowell (13), Cash Oliver (10), Fisher Shipman (3), Logan Slavens (2)–28
