And it was a showdown.
It was a duel. It was a shootout.
It was a heavyweight-knock-down-drag-out-slugfest-bout between Dove Creek’s Jordan Ernst and Dolores’ Ben Lykins.
Ernst and Lykins each scored 17 first-half points, but the Bulldogs also got six points from Scott Gatlin and Kyle Schultz and four from Dante Gallegos to enter halftime with a 33-31 lead.
While Ernst and Lykins carried the load for their respective teams for most of the game, it was Dolores’ Josh McCoy and Jalen Balderrama who stole the show in the third quarter.
McCoy knocked down three triples from the right corner for nine points, and Balderrama scored nine of Dolores’ final 10 points to give the Bears a 58-48 lead entering the final quarter.
“Josh is a streaky, great shooter,” said Dolores head coach Larry Schwartz. “When he gets hot, he’s on fire, it’s crazy.”
“When we get Jalen out on that fast break, that’s when we’re at our best, because that’s his game is to get down the court,” he said. “He’s good with his left hand, right hand, he can finish either way at the bucket. And he was getting to the basket really well there for a while.”
Trailing by 10 after three quarters, Dove Creek head coach Ty Gray said his team looked a bit down and dejected.
“Are you going to step up or are you going to let Dolores walk out of here with a win in your building?” He asked his team before the start of the fourth.
“Dante Gallegos came in at that point and picked up the defensive intensity and rebounding for us,” he explained. “And Ernst stepped up and took control on the offensive end.”
Ernst dropped in the first six points of the quarter and then assisted Beau Hemphill to bring the Bulldogs within two. He then knocked down two free throws to erase the 10-point deficit and tie the game at 58 with 4½ minutes to go.
Fueled by Ernst, the Bulldogs would build a six-point lead with a minute to go. Dolores would get within four, but no closer, and Dove Creek held on to win 76-68.
Lykins did what he could to lead the Bears – scoring eight points in the final quarter and assisting Tristen Medina for Dolores’ only other score – but Ernst was too much.
The 5-foot-10 senior scored or assisted on all but two of Dove Creek’s 28 fourth-quarter points.
He went all the way to the rack for scores, he pulled up for jumpers, he dropped in floaters to avoid being called for charges, he dished to teammates when the defense collapsed on him and he got to the free-throw line.
Ernst shot 12 free throws in the final period, hitting 10 of them and finishing with 18 points in the frame and 39 on the night.
“I’d like to see the scoring spread out a little more, but after Jordan hit his first few shots in the first quarter, you knew he was on then,” Gray said.
“He had his confidence, he was calm and he was playing his game, so I don’t pull anything back at that point,” he continued. “I let him do what he can do.”
“I was hoping we’d control Ernst a little better than what we did, but he’s tough to stop off the penetration,” explained Schwartz. “When he penetrates and gets his shots off it’s tough to stop. And we couldn’t do that tonight and he was able to dish it to his big guys.”
On the other side of things was Lykins, who finished with 32 points of his own.
“I didn’t realize Ben had that many,” Schwartz said following the game. “But he’s been on fire for the last two games.”
“Ben played last night like he’s played every time we’ve played him,” Gray said on Wednesday. “He likes to attack the basket. He’s a very aggressive player. He made some good shots. He stepped up and he played a really good game last night.”
While Ernst and Lykins highlighted the matchup, neither could have done it alone.
Gatlin scored 13 points for the Bulldogs and Gallegos and Schultz chipped in 10 apiece, while Balderrama finished with 14 points and McCoy scored 11 for Dolores.
Dolores (2-6) will travel to Norwood (6-2) on Friday before hosting CHSAANow’s No. 5 ranked Class 1A team, Ouray (8-0) on Saturday.