Virgin Valley High School Bulldog fans were not sure which team would show up, the team that lost to Moapa Valley High School Friday night or the team that plays Bulldog basketball. It was the Bulldog basketball playing team that came out and blew a decent Sunrise Mountain Miners team right out of the Dawg House 68-34.
Miners coach John Teran said,” This game is huge for us, we need a win to give us confidence going into the playoffs. League standing teams 2-8 can beat each other any game of the season.” It wasn’t to be for the Miners as the Dawgs came out and played their offensive game of the year. Their unselfish passing and determination was apparent from the game tip-off.
The Dawgs jumped out to an 8-0 lead on three balls from Zach Barnum and Andrew Memmott. Memmott added a slash to the basket for two points. Hogan Fowles hit a three plus two and Cody Jones added a putback to give the Dawgs a 15-5 advantage with 1:40 remaining in the first quarter. Enter Bulldog point guard Jarrett Tietjen off the bench who proceeded to end the period with nine straight to give the Dawgs a 22-7 lead after one.
The Bulldogs 2-3 defense did not let up in the second period as they held the stunned Miners to six points for the period. Meanwhile, Tietjen was having his game of the year with pin point passing and seven points in the period to give the Dawgs a 38-13 lead at the break. Tietjen finished the half with 14 points to lead all scorers.
BulldogSunriseMountainBasketballGame-02-02-16: Bulldog guard Jarrett Tietjen #2 came off the bench to score 20 points to lead the Bulldogs to a 68-34 victory over Sunrise Mountain High School Tuesday night, Feb. 2 in the Dawg House. Photo by Lou Martin.
The Bulldogs widened their lead in the third period to 54-20 while holding the Miners to seven points. Tietjen and Barnum had six points each to lead the Dawgs. Bulldog reserves pretty much mopped up in the fourth period. Reserve Jayden Perkins had eight points in the period to lead the Dawgs.
Tietjen finished with 20 points followed by Barnum with 13 points and Perkins with 10 points. Memmott led the Dawgs with 11 boards. Center Reid Jensen although scoring only two points intimidated the Miners with three blocked shots and great pressure in the paint. The Dawgs shot 20 for 35 and 6 of 11 from three-ball for an outstanding offensive show.
“I wanted to get up early on them,” said Bulldog coach Sean FitzSimons. “I changed the starting lineup to increase our length bringing Jensen on the floor. Overall the team looked out for each other and played Bulldog basketball.”
The Bulldogs travel to Chaparral on Thursday, Feb. 4 before facing Desert Pines also in Las Vegas. It will be the toughest stretch of basketball for the Dawgs this year.
