Bulldogs March to Sgt York Classic
The Red Boiling Springs Bulldogs were invited to play in the 2017 Sgt York Southeastern Christmas Invitational in Jamestown. They were one of eight boys teams competing.
In the 1st round they faced the Owsley County(KY) Owls. The Bulldogs got off to a fast start as Dalton Marsh scored 10 quick points to give the Bulldogs a 14-10 1st quarter lead. Jordan Powell and James Sampson both had 1st quarter points. Marsh would score 8 more while Mason Hix would add 3 to send the game to a 29-16 half-time lead.
With all the Owl defensive efforts concentrated on Marsh, in the 3rd period Jordan Powell would score 9, Hunter Kirk 3, Hix 2, and 6 more from marsh to have a 45-25 lead going into the final period. Coach Owens was able to get some playing time for his bench and the Bulldogs win by a final score of 70-30.
In the 2nd round game Red Boiling Springs would play the Friendship Christian Commanders for the chance to play in the finals. Outstanding defense by both teams and good shot selection dominated the first half of this game. Friendship would play much of the first half in a triangle-and-two, in an effort to shut down Marsh and it worked. Even though it was effective RBS trailed 23-25 at the break.
Rinse and repeat. The Bulldogs just couldn’t get the ball to Marsh in the 2nd half. The Bulldogs shot the ball fairly well and kept the game close. After the Bulldogs cut the lead to 2 points in the final period, Friendship made 8 straight free thows to pull out the win 58-55.
Final scoring was: Hix 16, Marsh 13, Matthew Murphy 12, Kirk 7 , Kendall Thompson 2, James Sampson 3, and Dylan Gross 2.
RBS would face the host team in the consolation game in Jamestown. The score was 9-8 York after the 1st quarter and the halftime score was 27-23 York. The Bulldogs got fairly balanced scoring to keep it close.
The Bulldogs fought back in the 3rd period, making four 3 pointers. The game would go into the final stanza tied 39-39. With 51 seconds on the clock and York leading 52-51, the Bulldogs would go scoreless on two consecutive possessions and were forced to foul. York made their free throws and won by a final score of 57-52. The Bulldogs played one of their best games of the season even though they came up a bit short.
Scoring totals were: Marsh 24 and 17 rebounds, Powell 8 points, Murphy 9 points, Hix 4 points, Kirk 5 points, and Gross 2 points.
