Fourteen games into its season, the Dove Creek High School basketball team continues to improve. Now, the Bulldogs are seeking consistency.
Bulldogs squeak past Ridgway
Playing at home against Ridgway on Jan. 31, Dove Creek rode the hot shooting of Jordan Ernst to a 76-70 victory. With the victory, Dove Creek improved to 4-10 on the season.
“During the (Ridgway) game, we took care of our free throws and turnovers,” said Dove Creek head coach Ty Gray. “No team led by more than eight points, and we were able to hang on down the stretch.”
Ernst led the Bulldogs with a season-high 37 points, junior Kyle Schultz scored 12, and junior Alex Ogas added eight.
Ridgway junior Hasten Beamer scored 24 points in his team’s loss.
Bulldogs fall to Mancos
Traveling to face Mancos on Jan. 30, Dove Creek fell behind early in route to a 75-47 loss.
Mancos aided by five three-point field goals during the first half, led 22-8 at the end of the first quarter and 39-21 at halftime.
“Mancos is very aggressive, and they came out pressuring us,” said Gray. “We had a lot of turnovers on our side.”
Ernst scored 20 points, and junior Spencer Gatlin scored 14 points in the Bulldogs loss.
Junior center Ro Paschal and senior shooting guard Nigel Henry led Mancos with 15 points each.
“Ro scored fewer points than he has in the past, and most of those were on the fast break,” said Gray. “In the half-court game, we did all right with their big men, but we had a hard time covering their three-point shooters.”
Next up for Dove Creek will be a home matchup against Telluride at 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 7.
(Telluride) is right in the middle of the pack with the rest of us,” said Gray. “We’ll attack them the same way that we attack every team. Hopefully we can come away with a win.”