Bulldog sharpshooter Hogan Fowles #11 splits the Eagles defense for the Dawgs first two points of the night during the Dawgs 63-54 victory Wednesday Jan. 25 in the Dawg House. Fowles finished with 16 points for the game.

The Virgin Valley High School Bulldogs expected a win over the Boulder City High School Eagles Wednesday Jan. 25 in the Dawg House, they won but it didn’t come easily. The Dawgs had their hands full with the young scrappy Eagle squad before putting them away, 63-54. The Bulldogs hit 13 of 16 from the free throw line in the fourth period to insure the victory. The Bulldogs had 8 three balls during the game led by leading scorer Hogan Fowles who hit three for a total of 16 points. Point guard Jarrett Tietjen added 12 points, going 7-7 at the line. Forward Andrew Memmott and reserve Devin Cox pitched in with 12 and 11 points respectively.

The first period was a game of three ball, as the underdog Eagles fired up three straight three point shots to take a 9-5 advantage late in the first period. All 5 Bulldog points came off the hands of Fowles keeping the Dawgs close. Coach Sean FitzSimons made a huge substitution bringing Cox into the fray with 1:30 remaining in the period. Cox responded with 8 quick points including two shots from downtown giving the Dawgs a first quarter lead of 15-14. The teams traded 7 three balls in the period. The Bulldogs continued their cold shooting going scoreless for the first 3:30 minutes of the second period before Fowles put up eight points including two threes giving the Dawgs a 23-18 advantage. Cox ended the first half with a three giving the Dawgs a 30-25 lead going into the break.

Bulldog Tietjen led the Bulldog attack in the third period putting up five points, his first of the game. The Dawgs were up 37-27, their biggest lead of the game before the Eagles rallied back to cut the Dawgs lead to 37-34 with 2:27 remaining in the period. A quick timeout by the Bulldogs got the Dawgs back on track closing with a 42-35 lead after three periods. The Bulldogs managed only four baskets in the fourth period but their thirteen made free throws kept the Eagles at bay. “We knew we would have a ball game,” said Bulldog Coach FitzSimons. They had nothing to lose. They had 7 three balls which surprised us. Our defense played well and I’m proud of the kids as they did not panic when we fell behind early. We still have momentum going for us going into the big game Tuesday at first place Chaparral.”