Bulldog shooting guard Will Barnum #23 hits for two of his 16 points during the Bulldogs loss to archrival Moapa Valley.
Photo by Lou Martin
The Virgin Valley High School Bulldog basketball team defeated Sunrise Mountain HS 51-45 in overtime on Wednesday February 6 before losing to archrival Moapa Valley HS 69-61 in double overtime on Friday Feb. 8.
The Bulldogs had a tough time getting their offense together against the Miners scoring only six points in the first period and 19 points after one half of play. Thankfully the Miners were having their own difficult time on their offense as the score read 23-19. Bulldog Will Barnum kept the Dawgs in the game with his shooting prowess. The Dawgs rallied to tie the game 42-42 in regulation before Barnum took the lead and scored five points in overtime giving the Bulldogs a 51-45 victory. Barnum led the Bulldogs with 20 points followed by Daxon Toone with 12 points.
Friday’s matchup with Moapa Valley met all expectations from supporters on both sides of the ball as the Dawgs and Pirates battled for four periods before going into double overtime with the Pirates finishing on top 69-61. The Dawgs led 14-11 after one period and 23-20 at the break as neither team shot very well. The Pirates could not take advantage over the spunky smaller Bulldogs as they dominated the offensive boards. The Dawgs led 36-31 after three periods behind Barnum and Kristopher Leavitt who scored all the Dawgs points in the period. The Bulldogs increased their lead to 44-35 before the Pirates called timeout with 5:01 on the clock. The ploy worked as the Pirates scored went on a 7-0 run as Jessup Lake dominated the boards closing to 44-42. Bulldog coach Mark Barnum called time to steady his young charges. Bulldog point guard Koden Tietjen responded with four points giving the Dawgs a 48-45lead with 18:00 seconds remaining in the game. The Pirates set up a three ball play which resulted in a tie after regulation 48-48. The game had 5 lead changes in the first overtime before the Dawgs led 56-53 with 1:07 on the clock. The Bulldogs had three free throws which would have iced the game but missed giving the Pirates one last chance to tie with 15:03 seconds remaining. Instead of fouling the Pirates and using up part of the clock, the Bulldogs allowed another three-ball, tying the game. The Pirate fans went wild after that shot. It was all Lake in the paint as the Pirates outscored the Bulldogs 13-5 to end the game. Barnum had 16 points and Toone finished with 12 to lead the Dawgs. Lake led the Pirates, scoring 22 points. The Bulldogs end their season hosting Sky Pointe on Tuesday Feb. 12 and Chaparral on Feb.14.
