Sr Bulldogs To Resume Conference Play

The Waldron Sr Bulldogs will travel to Cossatot River on Tuesday, January 5, 2021 to resume 3A-4 conference play. The Bulldogs played three games last week, over Christmas break, in place of the Bill Frye Invitational, that they traditionally attend annually. Due to Covid restrictions, the Bill Frye Invitational was put on hold for the year.

On Monday, December 28^th, the Bulldogs played Horatio and came away with a 78-42 victory. The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 22-9 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. At the end of the half, the Bulldogs had extended their lead to 21 with a 41-20 edge. Waldron didn’t let the half cool them off as they added 27 more points in the 3^rd quarter. Entering the 4^th quarter, the Bulldogs were leading 68-36 and came away with the 78-42 win. The Bulldogs were 53% from the field, connecting on 9/19 (47%) 3-pointers. Gada Wagner had a game-high 25 points. Fourteen Bulldogs were in the scoring column for the night. Luke Bright was the leading scorer for the Lions with 16 points, respectively.

Box Score:

Waldron: Gada Wagner (25), Isaac Villarreal (9), Trevor Hunt (8), Trenton Hunt (6), Lidge Stinson (6), Camdon Holcomb (4), Petey Justice (3), Caden Fuller (3), Jayden McConnell (3), Jesse Dees (3), Jacob Daggs (2), Jaden Hutchens (2), Bryson Bailey (2), Braden Williams (2)-78

Horatio: Luke Bright (16), Wyatt Nelson (13), Blake Pickett (8), Unknown Player (5)-42

On Tuesday, the Bulldogs traveled to Ozark to take on an old conference foe. The Bulldogs raced out to a 6-2 lead to start the game but Cooper Watson knocked down back-to-back 3 pointers to give Ozark the 8-6 lead but the Bulldogs used a 4-0 run to end the quarter with a Gada Wagner turnaround jumper and a Braden Williams transition basket. Gada Wagner would score the first basket of the second quarter hitting a 3 point basket and giving the Bulldogs a 13-8 lead. After a few possessions, Jaxson Harris would answer with a 3 pointer for the Hillbillies. 

The teams would trade baskets for the rest of the quarter but with the game tied 19-19, Gada Wagner drained a long three-point basket just before the buzzer to end the half. To start the second half, the Hillbillies’ Jaxson Harris hit his second three of the night to tie the game. That would spark a run of 6 made threes in a row with each team exchanging three-point baskets. Isaac “The Real” Villarreal came right back down the floor for the Dogs to hit his own three. Cooper Watson answered for the Hillbillies, followed by Gada Wagner for the Dogs. 

Garrett Schaffer would hit a three for Ozark making the score 28-28. Jaden Hutchens would answer right back with his first three of the night and sparking a personal 7-0 run for the Bulldogs making the score 35-28. Ozark would go 4/4 from the foul line to make the score 35-32 before Hutchens would add another three for the Dogs late in the 3rd and give the Bulldogs the 38-32 advantage going into the fourth quarter. The Hillbillies would use a 7-0 run with baskets from Schaffer and Watson and a three-pointer from Vanden Bush to give Ozark their first lead since the 1^st quarter. 

Wagner would tie the game up for the Bulldogs with a jumper inside the paint. The Hillbillies would use a 7-2 run to manage a 5-point lead, 47-42.  However, with 30 seconds to go in the game, and looking like this one may be out of reach, the Bulldogs had a little magic left. Gada Wagner knocked down a huge three-point basket in the corner. After a timeout, the Bulldogs went to a full-court press. The Bulldogs were able to trap and Bryson Bailey deflected the pass, which was stolen by Caden Fuller. Fuller then passed it to Bailey who finishes at the rim. Ozark had an opportunity to win in regulation but their attempts inside the arc came up short. 

In the overtime period, Isaac “The Real” Villarreal started the scoring with a running jumper inside the paint followed by a three-point basket by Gada Wagner making the score 52-47. The Hillbillies would strike back with back-to-back baskets from Schaffer. With the score 52-51, and 5 seconds left in the game, Caden Fuller came up with a deflection and Gada Wagner got the steal and was fouled. Gada made both free-throws to make the final score 54-51, Waldron. 

The Bulldogs shot 62% from the field on the night with 12/20 (60%) inside the arc and 9/14 (64%) from beyond the 3 point line. Gada Wagner led all scorers with 26 points. And Jaden Hutchens and Isaac Villarreal each had 10 for the Bulldogs. Cooper Watson led in scoring for Ozark with 19 while Garrett Schaffer added 16 for the Hillbillies. Coach Brown stated, “Didn’t play a lot of players in our game against Ozark but every player made an impact. Every fan who came to the game made an impact. What a great high school basketball game and a great atmosphere!”

Box Score:

Waldron: Gada Wagner (26), Jaden Hutchens (10), Isaac Villarreal (10), Braden Williams (6) Bryson Bailey (2)-54

Ozark: Cooper Watson (19), Garrett Schaffer (16), Jaxson Harris (6), Vanden Bush (6), Sebastian Ross (4)-51

To end 2020, the Bulldogs played host to the Mavericks of FS Southside on December 30th. The Mavericks took the early 9-4 lead on the Bulldogs to start the game but back-to-back baskets from Villarreal would get the Bulldogs within 1 and a Wagner lay-up would give the Bulldogs their first lead, 10-9. Southside would answer right back with a three pointer from Tristan Lane. 

Waldron would score the next four points with lay-ups from Braden Williams and Bryson Bailey but the mavericks would finish the quarter on a 4-0 run to take the 16-14 lead to end the first. Caden Fuller would start the scoring in the second quarter with a pass from Wagner. With the score at 21-20, the Mavericks would use a 6-0 run to take the 27-20 lead. After a timeout, the Bulldogs would use an 8-0 run to take the lead but it was short-lived as Yazed Taforo would hit a floater. 

Isaac Villarreal would answer right back giving the Bulldogs the 30-29 lead.  Jack Williamson hit a 3 for the Mavericks making the score 32-30. The Bulldogs missed a three with 1 second on the clock and Braden Williams just beat the buzzer to tie the game 32-32 at the half. The third quarter saw the teams trade baskets and with the score 40-38 in Southside’s favor, Villarreal hit a three-pointer to give the Dogs a one-point lead and spark a 9-0 run. 

With under 5 seconds to go in the third quarter and the Bulldogs leading 47-40, the Mavericks were able to get a basket to make the score 47-42 going into the 4^th. The fourth quarter was all Southside as they outscored the Dogs 20-8 in the final frame, giving the Bulldogs their first loss in 8 games.  Waldron finished the game 20/31 (65%) inside but was just 2/19 (11%) from the 3 pt. line. “We took one on the chin Wednesday night at home. Had the lead going into the 4th quarter but ran out of gas. Went cold and couldn’t get some shots to fall late. I’m proud of the way our kids competed and throughout the first half of the season.” The Bulldogs are 11-4 (3-0) on the year.