Throughout a busy week of basketball, one thing was evident and that was the growth of the Jr Bulldogs. Adjusting to coaching changes and increased roles, the Jr High Bulldogs have been up-and-down during the early part of this season. “We had done a lot of positive things early this season but we still have to eliminate some of the same mistakes we are consistently making. This week has been good for us,” coach Zak Terwilliger said. The Dogs finished as the runner-ups in the annual Arvest Invitational hosted at the WAC every year.
On Monday the Bulldogs found themselves down big early to the Ozark Hillbillies by a score of 27-4. The momentum slowly started to change as Roky Avila and Aden Allen started to find comfort in the post. The Dogs ended up falling 50 to 39, but outscored the Hillbillies in the remaining three quarters and missed some crucial free throws in the 4th quarter that could have cut the lead into single digits.
Next up for the Dogs was the Tigers of Acorn. Acorn figures a young Jr High squad with several 8th graders being key contributors but was simply outmatched by the Bulldogs ability to pressure the basketball with Keegan Lynch, Cole Bailey, and Caden Hunt. That ball pressure, coupled with a heavy dose of Roky Avila, led to the Bulldogs knocking off the Tiger by a score of 52 to 39.
The final round of the Invitational matched up the Booneville Bearcats with Waldron. Booneville returns some key players from their junior high squad last year and have had a very good start to their season. It was a back and forth affair through the first 3 quarters until the Bulldogs finally got on top and remained there for the rest of the contest. More of the same for the Dogs as Avila and Allen established themselves on the blocks and Hunt and Lynch added some timely three point baskets. Driften Wagner brought some great on-ball defense to the floor and caused Booneville to never really get into an offense in the 4th. The Bulldogs captured the runner-up finish by a score of 49 to 31.
Ozark finished the Invitational at 3-0 to be crowned champions, with Koby Wilbanks from Ozark receiving the Josh Waddle MVP plaque. “I am always proud of my guys but really proud of their growth throughout the season and hope we continue to get better each game. Thank you to Shelley Buckles, and Arvest for their support of this tournament for many years and always being Bulldogs,” added Coach Terwilliger.
