The Bulldogs took the lead at the end of the first quarter when Wes Lieser hit a last-second three-pointer. His basket broke a 12-12 tie, giving the Bulldogs a 15-12 lead at the first break.
The Bulldogs showed patience offensively in the second quarter, controlling the tempo and making the Thunder defense work. The Dogs surprised everybody in the building when they went into the locker room at the half with a two-point lead.
In the third quarter, Paynesville scored quickly but then went for over seven minutes without scoring a point. They scored on a last-second lob to J.T. Koehn to end the third quarter down by eight points. The Thunder outscored the Dogs 14-4 in the third.
The Dogs didn't give up, but the offense of LPGE was too strong, hitting numerous three-pointers in the fourth. The Thunder sank the Bulldogs and ended up outscoring the Dogs by ten in the final quarter.
The Bulldogs had balanced scoring with Lieser leading with nine points. T.J. Schultz, J.T. Koehn, and Andy Jones adding eight apiece. Schultz also had eight rebounds.
The Bulldogs played at Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa yesterday. They do not play again until after Christmas when they travel to Minnewaska High School to play in their Christmas tournament. The Bulldogs will play Minnewaska in the first round on Thursday, Dec. 28 at 8 p.m.
| LPGE-- | 12 | 9 | 14 | 22 | - 57 |
| Paynesville-- | 15 | 8 | 4 | 12 | - 39 |
Scoring: Logan Louis 2; T.J. Schultz 8; Wes Lieser 9; Andy Jones 8; Nathan Martinson 2; Jonnie Schefers 2; J.T. Koehn 8; TOTAL 39.
Annandale 72
Paynesville 60
On Tuesday, Dec. 12, the Bulldogs faced a tough, undefeated Annandale team. The Bulldogs were outplayed and fell behind in the first quarter. The Cardinals hit several three-pointers and scored a put-back basket at the end of the quarter to take an 11-point lead, at 24-13.
The Bulldogs, though, rallied by scoring the first ten points of the second period and went into halftime down by four, 34-30.
The Bulldogs further cut the Cardinals' lead in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to two. After the Bulldogs tied the score though, the Cardinals dominated the rest of the fourth quarter. Annandale hit their free throws to put the Bulldogs' hopes down the drain.
J.T Koehn (pictured with ball) played well for the Bulldogs, scoring a season high of 21 points. Fellow post T.J. Schultz added 13 for the Dogs.
Matt Totz, a senior forward, led Annandale with 29 points. The Cardinals made six three-pointers, three by Totz.
Senior post Nate Martinson led the Bulldogs with nine rebounds.
| Annandale-- | 24 | 10 | 14 | 24 | - 72 |
| Paynesville-- | 13 | 17 | 16 | 14 | - 60 |
Scoring: Logan Louis 3; T.J. Schultz 13; Wes Lieser 5; Andy Jones 8; Nate Martinson 6; Aaron Lang 2; Davis Hoekstra 2; J.T. Koehn 21; TOTAL 60.