'Dogs down Hawks at home

The CCHS Bulldogs faced the Broadus Hawks at home on Friday, January 3. The teams will meet again on Friday, January 31 in Broadus.

In the first game of the afternoon, the Lady Bulldogs Junior Varsity fell in a close contest to the Lady Hawk JV 35-26. After a back-and-forth first half of play, the Lady Hawks pulled away in the second half to secure the win. The JV Lady Bulldogs were led by Allie Shepherd's 12 points, followed by Alivia Foxley with 7, Maggie Eshelman with 4, and Ayla Yates with 3. In Boys JV action, the Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead that they would not relinquish en route to a 65-35 win. Eldon Morris led all scorers with 22 points, and all eight Bulldogs notched points.

The Lady Bulldogs opened conference play against the Broadus Lady Hawks by defeating the defending 4C Tournament Champions 56-32. The Lady Bulldogs were led on offense by Nasya O'Connor (21 points) and Kendra Tooke (17 points), and the Bulldogs' pressure defense and rebounding advantage were keys to the decisive victory. The win moves the Lady Bulldogs to 3-3 on the season and 1-0 in 4C Conference play.

The last contest of the evening was forced to move from the CCHS gym into the gymnasium at the adjacent Ekalaka Elementary School due to an equipment malfunction. School staff worked quickly to get the EPS gym set up and ready for varsity action. As spectators migrated to the new venue, players resumed warmups after only a short delay. Against the winless Broadus Hawks in the backup gymnasium, the CCHS Bulldogs overcame a strong effort from Zach Jones to prevail 66-65 in overtime. The Bulldogs led throughout the first three quarters, but a fourth quarter surge by the Hawks tied the game at the end of regulation. In OT, three-pointers by Kaleb Frye and Ethan Mellon were just enough to outscore the Hawks and secure the win. Kaleb Frye posted a season-high 27 points to help the Bulldogs improve their record to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in 4C Conference play.

The Bulldogs will travel to Baker to face the Spartans on Thursday, January 9. The next home game will be Friday, January 10 against the Bison Cardinals, with games tipping off at 2:45 p.m.

BOX SCORES

Girls JV

Ekalaka 26 – Broadus 35

Ekalaka 10-13-17-26 26

Maggie Eshelman 4, Alivia Foxley 7, Allie Shepherd 12, Ayla Yates 3

Broadus 7-14-23-35 35

Shaylee Bilbrey 6, Addi Randall 3, Addi Harper 7, Kimber Hodge 2, Jordan Schroeder 4, Reece Emmons 9, Danica Schroeder 4

Boys JV

Ekalaka 65 – Broadus 35

Ekalaka 19-37-57-65 65

Kinch Rost 5, Jaxen Walker 9, Tiernan O'Connor 12, Trey Tauck 6, Eldon Morris 22, Clay Rost 2, Rylan Carroll 7, Gage Stieg 2

Broadus 7-14-23-35 35

Lucas Capp 11, Landyn Merwin 2, Christian Oylear 2, Colten Jones 8, Baylor K 12

Girls Varsity

Ekalaka 56 – Broadus 32

Ekalaka 16-30-43-56 56

Corlan Laughery 3, Jillian McGraw 2, Kendra Tooke 17, Alivia Foxley 2, Allie Shepherd 3, Ayla Yates 2, Nasya O'Connor 21, Nicole O'Connell 2, Danica Shepherd 4

Broadus 9-16-29-32 32

Gracey Bilbrey 6, Addi Randall 1, Maddie Zimmer 8, Addi Harper 2, Kassie Hagedorn 7, Emelyn Harper 8

Boys Varsity

Ekalaka 66 – Broadus 65

Ekalaka 18-31-47-60-66 66

Chace Loehding 8, Ethan Mellon 15, Zander Ashbrook 2, Roger Beach 9, Kaleb Frye 27, Eldon Morris 3, Rylan Carroll 2

Broadus 13-22-38-60-65 65

Sean Oylear 1, Zach Jones 26, Baylor Kuhbacher 14, Logan Capp 2, Jayce Schroder 6, Landyn Merwin 2, Brock Goli 14