After falling to the Berman Panthers in the semifinals of the Duel at the Dome, the Bulldogs would take on the Gentry Pioneers in the 3rd place game. This could have easily been a trap game for the Dogs since this was their 4th game that they had played in five days, but Coach Atchley had his team ready and motivated to take on the Pioneers.
The Dogs came out with their usual starting lineup of Ethan Mayberry, Drew Owens, Trenton Hunt, “Fish” McConnell, and Camdon Holcomb. As expected, Waldron started a little slow and had trouble scoring in the 1st, but after Lidge Stinson checked into the game for the Dogs he made his presence felt quickly. He sliced through the defense and got a tough layup to fall to make the score 4-7 advantage Gentry. After Payton Justice took a charge, Stinson brought the ball down a buried a three pointer and got fouled while shooting to complete the rare 4-point play to put the Dogs up 8-7. The Dogs began to press in the final minutes of the 1st quarter, but Gentry was able to beat it and got two 3-pointers to fall to make the score 8-13 Gentry advantage to end the 1st.
Holcomb got the 2nd quarter going for the Dogs as he added two inside layups off nice post moves to bring the Dogs within one. Waldron would switch between full-court press and half-court man-to-man defenses to try to throw the Pioneers off, but this caused the Dogs to get in foul trouble which led to a lot of free throws from Gentry. Stinson was able to make a pull-up jumper to end the half with a score of 18-24 Gentry advantage.
Waldron came out of the half and immediately began to press the Pioneers. The Dogs forced many turnovers and were able to capitalize on them. Holcomb and Stinson scored 11 points straight for the Dogs as they were each able to get an and one layup to fall to put the Dogs up 31-29. The tables turned in the 2nd half as the Dogs were the ones that got in bonus early and were able to attempt a lot of free throws. Hunt was able to score 4 points from the line during the 3rd quarter. Owens ended the quarter with a left-handed floater to make the score 35-31 advantage Waldron.
The Dogs were firing on all cylinders in the 4th quarter. They pounded the ball inside the paint and were able to pull away from the Pioneers. Mayberry scored two lay-ups in a row to put the Dogs up 43-37, and then the Dogs would score 14 unanswered points. The Dogs were able to get out in transition and get some easy baskets led by Holcomb who scored 6 points in the 4th quarter. The Dogs improved their record to 8-3 with a final score of 57-40.
Although the Dogs were not happy with 3rd place, they proved a lot this week. They showed that they are a deep team that can cause havoc with their press defense. The Dogs ran into a good Bergman team in the semifinals that went on the win the Duel of the Dome.
Camdon Holcomb posted a double-double on the night with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Stinson was able to score 12 and Hunt added 9.
The Bulldogs will travel to Dardanelle on Tuesday, December 7th to take on the Sand Lizards. The JV girls will begin action at 5:00 followed by JV Boys, Senior Girls, and Senior Boys.
