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Bulldogs post 2 victories opening weekend

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ST. IGNATIUS — A young Bulldog team used a balanced attack for a sweep of Mineral County teams over the weekend.

Seven different Bulldogs got in the act in a 37-33 victory over the Panthers in Alberton Friday and nine Bulldogs finished on the scorer’s sheet in a 37-33 victory over Superior in the Doghouse Saturday night.

“We played nine guys and they all contributed. That is a must-have for us if we are going to compete every night out,” Mission coach Lloyd Phillips said. “This was a good start for our young team. Both games could have went the other way, but they didn’t.”

The Bulldogs season couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. They connected on their first four shots to take an 8-0 lead with 6:20 to play in the first quarter, but then missed on their next seven shots and only led 8-4 at the end of the first quarter. 

The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 28-21 to start the fourth quarter, but then Phillips said his team started to stand around and wait for someone else to take charge. With the Bulldogs’ offense at a standstill, the Panthers closed to 34-33 with less than two minutes to play, but then Austin McDonald hit two free throws and Dylan Evans connected on one for the 37-33 season-opening victory.

“We showed our youth at times and they took advantage of it and put points on the board,” Phillips said. “I knew we would play hard and we did the entire game. Once our court knowledge and choices improve we will have a chance at the end and that is all anyone could hope for.”

Austin Durglo and Stuart Grant led the Bulldogs with 10 points apiece. In his first varsity start, Grant pulled down 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double. Durglo hauled in seven rebounds, four assists and five steals. Evans added five points and McDonald and Ahlborn each finished with four.

The Bulldogs got off to another hot start Saturday, starting the game on a 7-1 run and not allowing a field goal until a desperation 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter to make it 7-4. The Bulldogs extended the lead to 21-14 heading into break.

“Last night we came out flat (after halftime) and it carried over the rest of the game,” Phillips said. “We talked about that and told them we need to be up 15 going into the fourth quarter and we almost got it done.”

The Dogs went 5 for 11 from the field and had built a 33-21 lead to start the fourth quarter. But then their youth surfaced again. They only connected on one field goal in the fourth and started to make bad choices and turn the ball over, but still survived with a 37-33 victory.

McDonald had a game-high 16 points and pulled down five rebounds and swiped four steals.

Evans added eight points and Ahlborn finished with four. Josh Durglo had three points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. 

The Bulldogs (2-0) have a tough week ahead of them with two county rivalry games. They play the Vikings in Charlo Tuesday and the Chiefs in Ronan Saturday.

Summary
Mission 37, Alberton 33
Mission 8 10 10 9 – 37
Alberton 4 8 9 12 – 33
MISSION - Austin Durglo 10, Dylan Evans 3, Stuart Grant 10, Austin McDonald 4, Spencer Ahlborn 4, Josh Durglo 6.
ALBERTON - Todd Myrstol 6, Jordan Iverson 3, Jake Thompson 15, Josh Webb 4, Brandon Lehl 3, Dayton Hudson 2.

Mission 37, Superior 33
Superior 4 10 7 12 – 33
Mission 7 14 12 4–37
SUPERIOR - Billy Smith 2, R.J. Frederick 9, Tanner Coon 8, Adam Kay 3, Zach Benda 3, Aaron Lowman 8.
MISSION - Austin Durglo 2, Dylan Evans 8, Stuart Grant 2, Austin McDonald 16, Josh Durglo 3, NIkko Alexander 2, Spencer Ahlborn 4.

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