Bulldogs Take a Huge Bite Out of Rockwood
By Terry Futrell
How do you shut down a team that relies heavily on one player who can shoot the lights out? Coach Joe Layne found the answer Tuesday evening as his Wartburg Central Bulldogs took a huge bite out of the Rockwood Tigers, locking in a fourth place finish in District 3A and a home court advantage in the first round of the upcoming district tournament. Using a smothering, full-court pressure defense, a balanced team offense, and pure hustle at a level seldom seen, the Bulldogs created offensive opportunities and overwhelmed the Tigers for an 80-59 victory before an enthusiastic Wartburg crowd.
The Bulldogs took the court looking more like a pack of pit bulls, applying a full-court pressure defense that seemed to totally frustrate the Tigers. Rockwood ace Nate Brackett, who shoulders the burden of the Tiger offense, found little opportunity to shoot as he was smothered by the Bulldog defense. Brackett scored only two baskets in the first quarter and had his pockets picked multiple times as Bulldog defenders either swatted the ball away or outright stole it. Rockwood could only put a total of eight points on the board in the quarter.
Meanwhile, the dog pack attacked the Tiger defense with a frenzy. Caleb McCarty quickly buried two 3-pointers and Tucker Carroll added a third. Four Bulldogs showed just how balanced their offense could be, scoring multiple baskets each. McCarty had six points, Colby Justes scored four points, Carroll scored five points, and Brian Hamby worked effectively inside to add five points. The Bulldogs led 20-8 at the end of the first quarter and never looked back.
The Bulldog defense continued to stymie Rockwood’s offense in the second quarter, holding Brackett to only five points for a total of 11 points in the first half. Coach Layne rotated his defenders assigned to guard Brackett, allowing his defenders to stick like glue to Brackett while spreading the expected resulting fouls across his team. The strategy was very successful as Brackett’s look of frustration was obvious. Clay Thompson stepped up for the Tigers, scoring six points in the quarter. The Tigers doubled their first quarter scoring by putting 16 points on the board.
The Bulldogs continued their offensive onslaught, adding 23 additional points in the second quarter to take a 43-24 halftime lead. Tucker Carroll led the Bulldogs, burying two more 3-pointers and scoring five points in the quarter. Elijah Heinze and Elijah Langley each sank a 3-pointer. Colby Justes and Tyler Davis added four points each, and Tanner Johnson scored two points.
After the break, Rockwood added 17 points in the third, with Nate Brackett scoring 11 points. Again, Wartburg’s pressure defense gave Brackett no opportunities from 3-point range and all of his scoring came from 2-point baskets. Clay Thompson added four points for the Tigers, and Jacob Reano scored two points.
The Bulldogs continued to rule in the third quarter, with Elijah Langley sinking two 3-pointers. Tyler Davis and Tanner Johnson each added a 3-pointer for Wartburg. Brian Hamby again worked effectively inside and scored twice. Collectively, the Bulldogs added 21 additional points to their score and took a 64-41 lead into the final period.
Rockwood continued their scoring pace and added 18 points in the final period, with 12 of those resulting from four 3-point baskets by Brackett. At least three of these came in the final three minutes after Wartburg Coach Joe Layne had cleared his bench to give his subs valuable playing time.
Elijah Langley and Tanner Branstetter led the Bulldogs in scoring in the final period, with each adding five points. Wartburg led by 32 points, 78-46, when the subs entered the game. The Bulldogs scored 16 points in the final period and left the court with an overwhelming 80-59 victory.
The victory assures Wartburg of a 4th-place finish in District 3A, and the Bulldogs will take on the 5th-place finisher in the opening round of the district tournament next week. That opponent is most likely to be Rockwood in a rematch of this game.
Click on the photo below to view game photos on Flickr.
