The Baltic Bulldog boys basketball team held off a late third-quarter rally by the Dell Rapids Quarriers to win their first home game of the season, 76-63, on Monday, December 15th.
The Bulldogs got out to a 7-2 lead with 4:50 to play in the opening quarter. They were able to push the lead to 20-10 by the end of the quarter. Both teams played even in the second quarter, scoring 15 points each. The Bulldogs led 35-25 going into halftime.
Baltic opened the third quarter on a 9-0 run to make the score 44-25 about midway through. Dell Rapids responded with a 13-0 run to cut the lead to 44-38 with 2:45 left in the third quarter. The Bulldogs would hold an eight-point lead, 54-46, going into the fourth quarter. Baltic was able to keep the Quarriers at a far enough distance in the fourth quarter to hold for the win.
The Bulldogs finished the game shooting about 55% overall, 38% on three-point shots, and 68% from the free-throw line. Dell Rapids shot about 44% from the field overall, 25% from three-point area, and 38% from the free-throw line. The Bulldogs also had about 10 more rebounds than Dell Rapids in the game.
Trevor Cuperus had 22 points and 10 rebounds. Dylan Runestand added 14 points and four rebounds. Ben Erickson finished with 12 points, three rebounds, and five assists. Kellen Artz tallied 11 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. Cooper Garry ended with seven points, three rebounds, and two assists.
