It was a successful run for the Dragon basketball team as they competed in the annual Ririe Bulldog Shootout December 11-13.  Throughout the three day tournament, the team tallied two wins and a loss, claiming the third place trophy.  The weekend highlighted overtime victories, comeback efforts, and lights out shooting for the MHS team.

In their first game of the tournament, the Dragons took on district 6 challenger the North Fremont Huskies.  The two teams played a neck and neck game, going into half time with Malad up by just one point, 20-19.  The Huskies stole the lead and broke open the game in the third quarter as they put up 20 points to the Dragons 11.  But the MHS team flipped the script in the fourth quarter as they tallied up 19 points to the Huskies 11, taking the lead again with just over 3 minutes left in the game.  

The two teams played neck in through the final minutes of the game, the Huskies going up by 2 points with only 14 seconds left on the clock.  Taking a moment to collect themselves and draw up a plan, the Dragons called a timeout, stepping back out on the court with 9 seconds left.  Executing their play with precision, Carter Carey managed to slip past his defender to the opposite block of their sideline inbound.  Ky Willie threaded the long pass right to his open teammate to score the basket and put them into overtime.

Beginning where they had left off, the Dragons and Huskies continued to trade the lead back and forth.  With seconds left on the clock, North Fremont went up again 56-55.  As Malad brought the ball down the floor, the Huskies stole the ball as they headed out of bounds.  Trying to keep possession, the defender threw the ball back on the court and out of bounds on the opposite side.  

Getting a second chance, the MHS team took the ball down the court.  Head Coach Zack Beutler called a timeout to position his team for a last second shot.  Carey received the sideline pass, making a move towards the basket to score with 5 seconds left and a foul shot.  Missing the bonus shot, the Huskies took the ball down the court with hopes of one last score, but the Dragon defense dug in to keep the lead to win 57-56.

Advancing through the bracket, Malad was set to play the Marsh Valley Eagles on Friday, a game that proved to be a much steeper challenge.  Trailing 6-9 at the start of the second quarter, the Eagles went on a 30-11 run over the next 8 minutes of play.  Taking advantage of outside shots and open layups, Marship Valley ended the first half 39-17.

Making adjustments, the Dragons came out strong in the third quarter, holding the Eagles to only 15 points.  But they couldn’t make any headway on the deficit as they scored only 11.  Matching the Eagles point for point in the final quarter, the Dragons trailed 41-67 as the final buzzer rang out.

The final game of the tournament pitted them against the Nampa Christian Trojans Saturday, December 13, a game that saw their highest scoring quarter of the season.  The Dragons struggled to get going in the opening period, not connecting with a basket until 3 minutes into the game while Trojans were already up 7. The final minutes of the quarter saw them close the gap to trail by only 3 points, down 15-18.  Carey hit the jumper from the right elbow off a pass from Oak Smith to tie the game at 22 before Nampa Christian took the lead back, ending the half ahead 28-24.

Still very much in the game with two quarters left to play, the MHS team came out of the half optimistic and confident, an attitude that put them up by 2 points just 90 seconds back into the game.  Sound rebounding, tough defensive efforts, and good ball movement led them to outscore the Trojans 22-12 in the third quarter.  With a second left, Ruger Smith drove in the key, getting off a quick shot for 2 points before the horn sounded,  putting the MHS team up 52-40 as they headed into the final period of the game.

Nampa Christian continued to play with strength and speed, making the fourth quarter a fight on the court, but it was undeniably a fight Malad was set to win.  The Dragons couldn’t be stopped on the inside, driving through the key or dishing to the crashing corner for easy layups by Ruger Smith, Easton Green and Braun Nalder.  At the same time, they went hot from the outside, hitting a number of three point shots by Carey and Dawson Beutler.  The team’s offensive effort tallied an impressive 28 points for the quarter, ending the game 74-56.

The Dragons walked away from the three back to back games with a combined total of 172 points, 72 rebounds, 40 steals, and 51 assists.  The team effort and success was applauded by Coach Beutler as he shared, “It was a good weekend. It’s awesome to continue to see multiple players contribute on both ends of the floor. During Thursday’s game the guys took six charges. Oak Smith took 4 himself. Huge momentum swing plays.”

Continuing he said, “Saturday we had five guys and double figures again which makes it difficult on our opponents when we are sharing the ball that well. The guys are making great early season progress.”

The Dragons will next play on their home court as they host the Grace Grizzlies on Tuesday, December 16.  Before pausing for Christmas break, the boys will travel back to Ririe to take on the Bulldogs Saturday, December 20.  January 3, the Bulldogs will come south to play the MHS team in Malad for their final matchup of the season.