Bulldog reserve forward Quintin Smith #21 goes up for a shot as Bulldog teammates left to right Cody Burnside #41 and Zach Barnum #23 look on. Smith’s aggressive play off the bench the past four games seemed to breathe life to the Bulldogs when needed. Photo by Lou Martin
The Virgin Valley High School Bulldog boy and girl basketball teams opened 1-A Sunrise League play defeating Tech Monday night by scores of 53-45 and 36-14.
The Bulldog boy basketball team won despite coming off two heart breaking losses in the BIT tournament this past weekend. A letdown could have been expected but the Dawgs played well enough to defeat the Roadrunners. The Bulldogs managed only 10 points in the first period but still led by a score of 10-8. Swingman Marcus Saunders led the Dawgs with six points.
The Bulldogs increased their lead to 22-19 at the half behind a well balanced attack. Six Bulldogs contributed points in the period led by Cody Burnside six. Burnside also made his presence known with his rebounding and shot blocking during the period.
The Bulldog offense came to life in the third period outscoring the Roadrunners 19-6 to take a 41-23 lead. Saunders had 9 points followed by four from Burnside. All points by the Roadrunners came on three point shots as the Bulldog defense smothered the Tech offense.
The Bulldogs increased their lead to 47-26 early in the fourth period before the Roadrunners mounted a comeback. The Tech squad, behind excellent three-point shooting by Preston Crawford and P.J. Galang, outscored the Dawgs 19-6 the rest of the way. Saunders led the Dawgs with 17 points followed by Burnside with 8 points.
The Bulldogs will travel to Del Sol High School on Wednesday before hosting archrival Moapa Valley on Thursday in an always heated battle.
The Lady Bulldogs won easily 36-14 over an out-manned Lady Roadrunner team. The Bulldogs led 11-2 after one period of play and 19-6 at the half. The third period was almost a no-show for either team. The Dawgs outscored the Tech squad 4-2 increasing their lead to 23-10. Bulldog reserves outscored the Roadrunners 13-6 to make the final score 36-14. Nine Lady Bulldogs scored in the game led by Kourtney Metzger with 9 points followed by Emma Barnum and Kamri Ludvigson with five. Savannah Lee, Janella Fiso and Bernice Fiso contributed four points each leading a balanced attack. The Lady Dawgs will host Del Sol on Wednesday before traveling to Moapa on Thursday to face the Pirates.
