In a battle of the top teams in Region 3A, the Baltic Bulldog boys nearly completed an upset agains the West Central Trojans on Monday, January 19th. The Trojans held off the Bulldogs 37-31.
Neither offense was really able to get into much of a rhythm the entire game as both defenses were the stars. The Bulldogs held a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Baltic continued to lead in the second quarter and remained in front by the same three points, 19-16, at halftime.
The Trojans got rolling a little bit in the third quarter. They opened the second half with a 9-0 run to take a 25-19 lead. That run proved to be the difference in the game. West Central continued to hold the lead through the rest of the quarter. The score was 29-24 in favor of the Trojans going into the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs made a run and got within a point, 32-31, late in the game. A layup by Hayden Heier and three made free throws in the closing seconds secured the win.
Baltic ended the game shooting 34% (12-35) overall, 28% (5-18) on three-point shots, and 2-2 from the free-throw line. West Central shot 38% (14-37) from the field overall, 21% (3-14) from three-point area, and 6-10 from the free-throw line.
Kellen Artz ended with eight points, six rebounds, and three assists. Ben Erickson also had eight points and six rebounds. Trevor Cuperus tallied eight points and four rebounds. Dylan Runestand had five points.
