NEWCASTLE – The Wheatland Bulldogs moved their season record to 6-14 this past weekend as they lost to Buffalo 38-31 and defeated Newcastle 43-24.

With their ball-control offense they once again limited possessions for their opponents and held Buffalo to just 38 points. The only other team that has been able to accomplish that this year was Cody. The game was close throughout the game with neither team gaining a big advantage. At halftime, the score was 22-18 and down the stretch Buffalo pulled away going to the free-throw line.

Lee Raser was the leading scorer for the Bulldogs with 10 points followed by JP Anderson with nine. Jacob Hyche and Brice Stenson had four points apiece, and Colton Halverson and Aric Suko each contributed two points.

Long back-to-back bus rides due to the Newcastle game being postponed due to weather on the last Saturday of January made for a total of 11 hours on busses this past weekend.

The slowdown offense was very effective against Newcastle who has been averaging only 27 points a game this year. The Bulldogs played slow and steady and minimized their turnovers to keep a healthy lead for most of three quarters. Other than the fact that the referees slowed the game down more than Mick Cochran’s offensive strategy, both teams logged a lot of miles to the free throw line.

For the game, Raser again led Bulldog scorers with 11 followed by Hyche with 10. Stenson had eight, while Anderson and Halverson with three each. Brock Peasley and Tagg Mickelsen scored two apiece, and both Suko and Nolan Hofrock each had a point.

“We handled Buffalo’s pressure pretty well,” Mick Cochran said. “We defended them really well. Our team’s defense was on point for most of the game. A few miscues in third allowed them to separate from us, and our Jekyll and Hyde free throw shooting hurt us a bit. In the Newcastle game, we played like a tired basketball team. We were a step behind defensively and struggled to score in the half court. However, we were able to outlast them in a game that had no flow or real emotion. It looked like a game of teams that had been on the road for a long period of time. All in al all we were pleased with our effort on Friday and happy to get a win on Saturday.”

The Bulldogs will again take to the road for two games this week. Friday night the team will tipoff at Glenrock at 7 p.m. and Saturday they will play against 3A No. 1 Douglas also at 7 p.m.