Bulldog shooter Hogan Fowles finishes off a three point basket over a Bobcat during the Bulldogs 65-29 win.
Photo by Lou Martin

The eighth annual Bulldog Invitational Basketball Tournament (BIT) got off to a rousing start Friday afternoon, Dec. 9 in the Dawg House as small school Enterprise (Utah 2A) defeated Nevada 4A Legacy High School 81-76 in the tipoff game.

Legacy led by as much as 14 points before the well-coached and disciplined Wolves from farm country tied the game 66-66 after regulation. The Wolves outscored the Longhorns 15-10 for the victory. Jo B Shurtliff led a balanced attack with 23 points. Four other Wolves scored in double figures.

The second game of the evening found 2A school West Wendover facing 3A Moapa Valley. The Wolverines put the Pirates away 67-51 late in the fourth period. The Pirates had no answer for a slashing Wolverine Zade Elton who put 32 points on the board.

Despite a seemingly unorthodox offense the Wolverines kept the Pirates at bay all evening. The win propelled the Wolverines into Saturday’s semi-final against Enterprise at 11:30am.

The third game of the evening found the host Virgin Valley facing off against 2A White Pine County. The Bobcats were not much of a match against the Bulldogs as they trailed throughout the game.

The Bulldogs led 15-3 after one period behind six points from Andrew Memmott and four points from Jarrett Tietjen. Bulldog Devon Cox began the second period with a hot hand scoring the first nine points on the way to a 35-15 advantage after one half of play. Memmott added five more points in the period.

The third period saw Bulldog Hogan Fowles hit two three balls to give the Dawgs a 55-25 lead after three periods. The Bulldogs reserves played most of the fourth period for the Dawgs. Cox led all scorers with 16 points. Memmott and Tietjen finished with 11 points each. The final score found the Dawgs winning 65-29.

The final game of the evening was another Utah small school, Kanab, facing off against Las Vegas’s Mojave High School. The Kanab Cowboys trailed for most of the first two quarters before rallying to take 16 point lead on the shocked Rattlers in the third period.

A hard pressing Rattler squad cut the Cowboy lead to three points before the Kanab squad regained their composure to win by five points 76-71.