Haxtun Bulldogs improve to 4-1 in busy week of basketball action

For the first time this season, more fans packed the stands to watch the Bulldogs as the team took on the Prairie Mustangs at home Saturday afternoon. A level change on the new State of Colorado's COVID dial allowed each athlete seven fan tickets opposed to the two it had been since the start of the season.

In front of a larger home crowd, the Haxtun Bulldogs jumped to an early 23-14 lead in a sometimes heated match up with the Mustangs from Prairie. The Bulldogs added another 13 points, three from a half-court, buzzer-beater shot from Isaac Andersen, before half time to hold onto a 36-29 lead on their home court.

Haxtun outscored their opponent by two in the third quarter and by one in the fourth to hold onto a 10-point win over their 1A foe. The win puts the team at 4-1 so far this season.

Owen Knode led the Bulldogs at home Saturday with 19 points against the Mustangs. Two other Bulldogs added double digits including Ryan Tempel with 14 and Osman Coss with 12.

"Prairie was very physical," Head Coach Jayden Stieb said of Saturday's contest. "I thought we made some key shots that helped us grow an early lead. We had trouble growing that lead from there."

Earlier in the week, Haxtun took on Briggsdale at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling. Haxtun put up 18 points in the first quarter Tuesday night on the college court and added another 17 in the second for a total of 35 points in the first half. Adding another 20 in the third and 15 in the fourth gave the Bulldogs a 70-61 win over the 1A team.

According to stats from Stieb, Knode led the Bulldogs with 21 points on the night. Tempel and David Avery both hit double-digits in the scoring column as well; Tempel with 14 and Avery with 13.

"Briggsdale was a good test," Stieb said. "They play the same style we are trying to play. We got a little too out of control at times, which led to unnecessary turnovers and Briggsdale made a nice run towards the end of fourth but I thought the boys showed good composure down the stretch."

On Friday, the Bulldog team suffered their first loss of the season against a quick, 1A Eagles team from Wray.

The Eagles ran a solid offense, taking an early 30-10 advantage over the Bulldogs. The visiting team added another 18 in the second quarter to hold a 48-24 half time lead. The Bulldogs managed nine points in the third and 13 in the fourth but the Eagles put up 41 points throughout the second half to take a commanding 89-46 win.

"Wray is a really talented and very well coached team," Stieb said. "We turned the ball over a lot early and against good teams we can't do that."

Knode again led his team in points against the Eagles, putting 11 points on the board.

This week Haxtun is set for two league contests, starting with action in Akron on Thursday afternoon. Junior varsity contests are slated for 4 p.m.

On Friday, the Bulldogs will host the Rams for Merino in a 4 p.m. match up beginning with junior varsity.

All Haxtun contests are streamed live on the Haxtun Schools YouTube channel. Continue to watch the Haxtun Fightin' Bulldogs Booster Club page for contest updates, links and roasters for each game.