Watching his teammates work the ball around the perimeter in the waning seconds Feb. 11, Liam Hassell looked surprised to receive the rock barely 4 feet from the hoop.
Shouts came from several directions for him to shoot – and not because the Bulldogs needed a buzzer-beater. But Hassell had a good view of The Dawg House’s main scoreboard, showing 2A Dove Creek well ahead of visiting 3A Telluride but himself trailing fellow senior Sheldon Gardner by one point for the game high.
Almost apologetically, Hassell couldn’t let the chance to razz his teammate pass, and shot the uncontested layup – upping his final count to 16 points while Gardner finished with 15 (each made three three-pointers) – to cap a 58-45 win.
“Caring more about a team win than what they can do individually – that’s where growth really happens,” said DCHS head coach Teresa Martin, not exactly overjoyed by the final basket but plenty pleased with how Hassell, Gardner and the rest of her team had come together when they most needed to. “And what they’re doing as a team, it’s just so awesome to see.”
Powerful in the paint, junior Trevan Ivie made three of six free throws and totaled 13 points plus as many rebounds. Junior point guard Nicholas Aragon – who, like Hassell (10 rebounds), booked six points during the opening eight minutes as DCHS broke out to a 10-0 lead in 5:49, and closed out the first quarter up 14-7 – ended up with two treys and 11 points. Junior Josh Kibel (3-4 FT) chipped in three points as the Bulldogs rose to 14-5 overall and 8-0 in 3A/2A/1A San Juan Basin League play.
And despite two major Miner surges, the ’Dogs never trailed and led 25-20 at halftime and 40-28 beginning the fourth and final frame. Hot long-range shooting from senior guard Sam Herman and junior guard Alex Nieto cut what had grown to a 48-33 deficit down to 48-39, but Telluride (7-12, 4-6 SJBL) got no closer down the stretch than 49-41 with 2:29 remaining in regulation, via two FTs by junior forward Langston Silbergeld.
“We kind of just started getting confidence in our shots, and we started hitting them,” said Herman, whose three second-quarter treys were the primary reason the Bulldogs’ advantage at intermission wasn’t much, much greater.
Herman finished with four threes and 12 points – as did junior Danny Romo, who sank two threes. Nieto (2 3-PT) ended up with nine points, as did Silbergeld (3-6 FT), and junior Miguel ‘Mike’ Sanchez drained one trey for his three points.
“The boys buckled down and kept playing good D … never stopped hustling. That’s what counts,” Martin said. “We had some ups and downs right around Christmastime, that kind of rolled into the new year … but we got it figured out as a team, and I’m so proud of these guys and the way they’ve been growing together.”
Up next, Dove Creek will host 2A Dolores (6-13, 3-6 SJBL) on Saturday, Feb. 15, then 2A Mancos on the 18th.
“Everyone had quite a few offensive boards, and that was great to see; tonight was probably one of our best (rebounding efforts) … that we’ve had all season,” said Martin. “And honestly I just want to keep seeing this team basketball, you know? Play as a team, grow as a team, and show it out on the floor. There’s always little improvements, you know – do more of this or more of that – but as long as they show up and play like they did tonight … that’s what’s going to make the difference.”
