Bulldogs hand Falcons first loss; bump up 5 spots in 1A rankings

Haxtun handed the top-ranked Briggsdale Falcons their first loss of the season in a stellar performance at Northeastern Junior College last week.

The Bulldogs knocked off Briggsdale in a close, five-point contest that later bumped Haxtun up five spots in Colorado 1A rankings. Haxtun went from a 10th place ranking the week before to the fifth place seed this week with just four games remaining on the regular season schedule.

The Bulldogs gained an early lead, outscoring the Falcons by five in the opening quarter of the contest. Briggsdale narrowed in on the gap by four in the second to bring the game within one at half time. Haxtun held a one-point advantage, 29-28 at the midway mark.

The second half remained just as close with Haxtun keeping the lead, putting 16 points on the board in the third while holding Briggsdale to 15. In a fight to the finish, the Bulldogs scored 24 points in the fourth quarter while holding the Falcons to 21 to seal the deal with a 69-64 win in a tough 1A battle.

Three Bulldogs hit double-digits in the scoring column at NJC on Tuesday. Senior Owen Knode led the pack with 24 points. Junior Michael Gerk registered 18 points while junior Maclin Tempel put up 15. Senior Isaac Andersen added eight.

On Friday night, the Bulldogs traveled to Wray to face off with the Eagles, a Lower Platte League opponent. Haxtun scored 14 points in the first and second quarters for a combined 28 points in the first half but trailed the Eagles by 15 at the half. Wray went on to dominate in a fast paced, up and down the court, second half to earn a 70-41 win.

Knode again led his team in scoring, registering 20 points in the contest against the Wray Eagles. Tempel added eight points followed by Gerk with six and Andersen with four.

"I really thought our pace of play improved last week. Owen has done a great job of getting the ball up and down the floor in transition," said Head Coach Jayden Stieb. "We still need to do a better job of getting the ball into the post when we get into a half court set. Our rebounding lately has been pretty good. Mac (Tempel), Isaac (Andersen) and Michael (Gerk) have really stepped up in controlling the boards."

This week the Bulldogs are set to face off with two league teams, kicking things off with a Thursday night match up with Akron at home. The Rams are currently 6-9 overall.

On Friday, Haxtun travels to Merino for a second match up with the Rams this season. Merino is 11-4 overall, according to MaxPreps. The two teams met in early December with Merino picking up a 52-42 win over Haxtun on the Bulldogs home court.

"The win over Briggsdale will help us with seeding when we get into the post season," Stieb said. "We have some big games coming up this week that will also be big for our seeding. The boys know these last two weeks are huge not only for setting ourselves going into the post season, but also for momentum going forward."