Bulldogs set to face off with Otis at home

That's a wrap on the regular boys' basketball season for the Haxtun Bulldogs. The team competed in Yuma last week where they fell to the Indians by a 21-point margin. This week, the Bulldogs are set to host their first round of District play on Wednesday night as they face off with the Bulldog from Otis. The two teams met once before, when Haxtun nabbed a 30-point win.

Friday night in Yuma, the Bulldogs battled with the Indians after tip off, coming up just four points shy of the home team after the first quarter of play. Yuma added 12 points in the second to hold onto a 26-16 led at half time. The Bulldogs had a strong third quarter showing, scoring two more than the Indians but it all came down to the third quarter when the Indians turned up the offensive pressure, adding 22 points to the board. Haxtun fell, 61-40.

According to stats from Head Coach Bryce Bivins, junior Ryan Tempel led the Bulldogs with 21 points on Friday night. Owen Knode tallied five assists.

"The end of this season has had its highlights for sure," Bivins said earlier this week. "Competing with Yuma until midway through the fourth quarter was unbelievable, no one expected us to be in that game."

The Bulldogs wrapped up regular season play with an overall 7-12 record and 3-5 in league play.

"I'm most proud of the kids' development," Bivins said looking back on the regular season. "Watching film from the first few games, it's amazing to see how everyone has improved."

Falling into the 1A District bracket, the Bulldogs clinched the number one seed and are set to face off with number eight ranked Otis Bulldogs this Wednesday, Feb. 26 at home at 7:30 p.m. The two teams met in Otis on Feb. 1; in that showing Haxtun came out on top of the dog fight, 61-31.

"For the post season, we keep telling the kids 'one game at a time,'" Bivins said. "Playing well in the regular season has made us confident in our ability, but we need to understand basketball is a funny game and anything can happen."

If Haxtun defeats Otis for the second time this season, they will advance to District play in Wray on Friday night, Feb. 28 and face off with the winner of number four seeded Flagler/Hi-Plains and Arickaree/Woodlin at 8:30 p.m. The winner of that match advances to play on Saturday evening.