The Mesquite Desert Dogs finished their long road trip from west to east with a 2-2 record. The Dogs now stand at 8-4 for the season, tied with last year’s champion Yakima for third place in TBL. Leading the league are the Albany Patroons and the Kansas City Tornadoes with 7-0 records. The Dogs began their trip with a 91-88 loss at San Diego before heading East too New York. Tyrone Criswell continued to lead the Dogs in scoring with 23 points, followed by Don Muepo and Jonathon Lloyd with 17 points each. The Dogs second game on February 7 was against the New York Court Kings with the Dogs winning easily 123-112. Game statistics were not available. The Dogs next opponent on Feb.8 were the undefeated Albany (NY) Patroons who trailed the Dogs for most of regulation before tying the game 115-115 in the last few seconds of the period. The Patroons outscored the Dogs 15-8 in overtime for the win. Muepo and Lloyd led the Dogs with 30 points followed by Criswell with 26 points. The Dogs, final road trip opponent on Feb.10 were the Jamestown (NY) Jackals. The Desert Dogs feeling the effect of the big game against Albany, trailed the Jackals at the half 45-38 before rallying in the third behind a great defensive effort to lead 74-65. The Jackals rallied in the fourth period before falling to the Dogs 102-95. Criswell had a double-double with 31 points and 16 rebounds. Teammates Brandon Mitchell and Lloyd added 18 and 16 points respectively.
The Desert Dogs return home on Feb. 13 for a six game home stand beginning with the San Diego squad followed by the Owensboro (Kentucky) Thoroughbreds on Friday Feb.16 and the co-leading Tornadoes on Sunday Feb.17. The Sunday game begins at 3pm at the high school. The home stand will end with San Diego coming in for two games on Feb.1 and March 1 before finishing with top dog Albany on March 9. The Desert Dogs have thrived on home cooking going 6-0.
