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Show Sports Th Page 8 Near win shows Bulldogs' potential by RORY HANSEN Coming off of two straight wins last week, the Gunnison Bulldogs looked to continue building some momentum with a home game against the Grand Red Devils. The game held some early season implications between these two region foes. After a huge road win in North Sevier, Gunnison was looking to climb the Region 15 standings. On the other hand, Grand was looking to hand the Bulldogs their first region loss. Unlike their last few games, Gunnison started slowly defensively. The Red Devils grabbed an early lead with some quick lay ups. Three straight lay-ups, 6 straight points, and the Bulldogs had an early deficit to make up. Gunnison fought back with some baskets of their own, but Grand countered with more easy lay-ups. In fact, of the Red Devils first 18 points, 16 came from lay ups. Gunnison, on the other hand, struggled from up close. The Bulldogs executed their offense effectively. However, it seemed that every open look was off target. All three of Gunnison's low post threats were given great feeds from the perimeter and then made excellent moves with the ball, but failed to convert. On the other end of the court Grand continued to make most of their possessions and increased their lead. The Bulldogs fought back with offensive contributions coming all over the floor. Josh Carlisle and Nick Roberts came back from slow starts, and Colby Caldwell made his presence known from the three point line. Carlisle led the Dogs with 19 points, and Roberts had arguably the best game of his young career. After cutting the lead to three by halftime, Grand continued to make a majority of its shots. Though the Bulldogs adjusted their defense and allowed far less gimmes, the Red Devils hit their jump shots to increase their lead to six again. The final quarter played out much like the first three for Gunnison. Just when they looked to turn the corner, Grand would come back and get their lead back to six. The same six points the Bulldogs gave up early. Gunnison gave up an extra basket to finish the game, losing 63-55. After a midweek letdown, Gunnison tried to get back on track against the undefeated South Sevier Rams. Not many teams want anything to do with the Rams this season and for good reason. The Rams came into Friday's matchup 15-0. Even more astounding, the Rams came into the game scoring 71 points per game and only allowing 48. Somebody forgot to hand that stat sheet to the Bulldogs. Gunnison started out strong, outscoring the Rams by five in the first quarter. The most telling statistic of the opening period though was the Bulldogs' defense. Gunnison held the Rams to a paltry eight points. As most great teams do, South Sevier came back with their own second quarter surge. Gunnison tried to keep pace with the Rams offensively, but was outscored by seven. South Sevier regained the momentum heading into halftime, 26-24. Gunnison had their best Thursday, January 27, 2011 Valley Ciazette Do Your Best Merrick Ward does his best by helping his sister Bethanie take care of their cats. Merrick attends Scouts in the Gunnison 5th Ward. He is the son of Rory and Melynda Ward. Do Your Best is sponsored by: Peterson Refrigeration & Mechanical 550 South Main, Gunnison • 528-3365 Come and enjoy Hayfield's Finest Dining! an anse unnison Va ey azette Braden Harris gets a good look at the basket after a great post move. quarter of the game in the third. Led by the rebounding of Braden Harris (13 for the game) and the scoring of Jantz Jensen (19 pts), Gunnison scored sixteen points and drew the game even at 40's. With the fourth quarter up for grabs, Gunnison tightened up its defense. According to assistant coach Jeff Bartholomew, Gunnison played possibly their best defensive game of the season. They executed their assignments and rotated well. South Sevier couldn't find an answer. Few baskets were scored as time wound down. With just a few ticks left, the Bulldogs found themselves down by two with the ball. Coach Smith put the ball into the hands of Jensen, who had shot well the whole game (4 threes made). South Sevier surprised the Dogs with a new look on defense. Jensen tried to adjust, but failed to score as the Bulldogs showed their potential, losing a close one 47-49. Wrestlers go to the mat New Winter Hours! Monday thru Saturday 8 am to 8 pm Closed Sundays 528-3788 100 South 10th West, Mayfield ACTION loll! VIDEO PLUS 178' SOUTH MAIN, GUNNISON 43S-52g-5204 by John Hales GUNNISON—Gunnison Valley High School wrestler Paul Yardley was one of several Bulldogs who pinned medals for themselves at their own home tournament last weekend. Yardley, a junior at 145 pounds, received a third-place medal for his 5-1 record at the tournament. Three of his teammates also found their way to winners' podiums: Skyler Bogh and Matt Mecham also received third-place medals in the 103- and 215-pound weight classes respectively. Burr, at 140 pounds, took fourth. But it was Yardley who, even though he didn't get the biggest award, perhaps provided the most excitement at the tournament. And he saved it for the very end. In his final match, Yardley won at the very end with a one-point lead, 10-9, over Millard's Maclayne Charlson. It was a struggle to the very end, with the taller, relatively lankier Yardley having to sustain every ounce of effort against a very solidly-built opponent. At the end of the first round, the score was tied 4-4; it was tied again after the second, 7-7. Yardley began the third round in the down position, but escaped for a one-point lead. Charlson scored a takedown for two, giving him the one-point advantage. Yardley fought against Charlson's advantage until time had almost expired, when a reversal earned him two points and the final lead. It was a little vindication II !Ye lash to extend season's greet* to all oup ea-stow/01s a‘ho have supported as is 2010 and yap hope ereiggone to have a Pilospoioas and Happy Melo Yea,/ PLEASE VISIT OUR GIFT SHOP AND SEE THE FINE JEWELRY AND UNIQUE GIFTS AVAILABLE AND SEE OUR... o n a es unmson Ta ey azette Paul Yardley, Matt Mecham, Skyler Bogh and Austin Burr are medal-winning members of the "Dawg Pound," the Gunnison Valley High School wrestling team, at the Bulldogs' home tournament last weekend. for Yardley, who has lost to Charlson before. "He felt good about that match," said Bulldog coach Mark Christenson. "He and that kid have gone the rounds before, and Paul finally came out on top." Yardley's stick-to-itiveness in the match is an example Christenson looks to for the rest of the team. "That's the kind of attitude that we're trying to foster in our program: to not give up, and fight to the bitter end. That match could have gone either way," the coach said. But Yardley wasn't done there. It turns out that by tournament's end, Yardley was in a three-way tie for first. But the results of head-to-head matches, and Yardley's only loss, gave him the shortest end of that stick. As a team, the Bulldogs finished in last place, but coach Christenson tries to not let that fact diminish the experience. "All in all, we feel the tournament was a success for us, and they learned from their experiences," he said. "We're proud of the boys and their effort they put into it." And, he said, with such a young team, he sees signs their learning what they need to noting that some of them are "putting it all together." "We as coaches extremely excited about how they're doing," he said. The tournament came on the heels of a down week for Gunnison wrestling. On Tuesday, the team wrestled the South Sevier Rams. Every Bulldog lost, and every one of those losses was by pin except for Skyler Bogh's. The team went to Beaver High School the following day. Only Bogh and Yardley scored wins on the varsity team. PREVIOUSLY VIEWED MOVIES AT REDUCED PRICES CA9a4,\ Y5 Pizza • Calzone Breadsticks • Saladci\VA0 ,g40 /0/77 Free Delivery (Limited Area) . : Ow i-,-_ ••••... ** 528-3792 57 South Main • Gunnison 4.44( pa.zoAft \.\-.) 4, sr: 7. ..•*• •■ •• 4 DE00 02z rrallitet C ed -ovate •-IA fracc ieh< Specialty Pizza's: thicken Alfredo • Philly Steak 8 Swiss • BBQ thicken • thicken Bacon Ranch Stix of all kinds: Bread Stix • theerstix • Pepperoni Stix • Hawaiian Stix • annastix • Yummy Stix lunchtime Special: Pizza by the Slice COACH B'S LOTSA MOTSA SPORTS CALENDAR Boys Basketball Fri Jan 28 • San Juan @ Gunnison • 7 pm Wed Feb 2 • North Sevier @ Gunnison • 7 pm Wrestling Fri & Sat Jan 28 & 29 • Enterprise Tournament Thur & Fri Feb 3 & 4 • Region Girls Basketball Fri Jan 28 • Gunnison @ San Juan • 7 pm Tue Feb 1 • Gunnison @ North Sevier • 7 pm |