After thirteen straight losses, some may have questioned whether the Dove Creek Bulldogs boys basketball team would win another game this season.
Playing against Dolores High School on Feb. 11, the Bulldogs answered any such doubters, beating the visiting Bears 54-45.
Playing toe to toe early on, the Bulldogs and the Bears battled to a 13-13 tie entering the second quarter as fans prepared for a nail-biter.
Riding the strong play of sophomore Jordan Ernst and senior Taylor Hankins however, the Bulldogs began to pull away in the second quarter, outscoring the Bears 14-4 during the frame.
“We fell back into a 2-3 zone and they had trouble penetrating it,” explained Bulldogs’ head coach Curtis Garver. “We ended up getting a lot of takeaways.”
Determined not to be blown out in the second half however, the Bears came out on fire, scoring multiple buckets to cut the Dove Creek lead to 39-34 entering the fourth quarter.
Sparked by several hustle plays by Hankins however, the Bulldogs regained their composure, outscoring Dolores 16-11 in the final frame to secure the victory.
Leading the Bulldogs in scoring was Hankins, who scored a career high 19 points.
“(Hankins) did a lot of hustling and it definitely showed on the points because he was battling for rebounds,” said Garver.
Also contributing on the offensive end for the Bulldogs were Ernst and sophomore Spencer Gatlin, who scored 15 and 10 points respectively.
With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 2-14 on the year with a Feb. 14 matchup against Nucla forthcoming.
“We feel pretty good,” said Garver. “Our next three games are against opponents that we feel comfortable playing.”
Hopefully for the Bulldogs, that comfort level will transfer into wins.
