Sports
Both Athens Teams Split The Week
By: Justin Cudahy
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Despite early season struggles from both The Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs, this week saw each team taking a step in the right direction following a pair of wins and losses.
The girls’ team started the week at 1-6, coming off a fresh loss to Logan last Saturday in which they’d lose 67-39.
On Monday, the team had the opportunity to add another W to the column when they squared off against the 0-6 River Valley Lady Raiders.
The Lady Bulldogs found success sharing the ball, with three of them finding themselves with double digit points, the first time this season.
Laura Manderick led the game for Athens, finishing with 19 points, along with a trio of three pointers.
Junior Kaylee Stewart earned herself a double-double for the Lady Bulldogs thanks to her 16 point, 10 rebound performance.
Emma Harter would also be one of the decisive factors in their victory, putting up a fight on both sides of the ball. The junior finished the game with 11 points, five assists and three steals.
On Thursday night, the Lady Bulldogs travelled to Jackson to take on the 3-2 Ironladies. With both teams fresh off a win, a victory for Athens here would have been pivotal for them; the turnaround they’ve been looking for all season.
Unfortunately, there was no stopping senior Rebekah Green and the Ironladies who would take this contest 51-38.
Green, who is the second all-time leading scorer in Jackson’s basketball program scored 27 of the 51 points for her team, with 19 of those coming in both the second and third quarter.
The Lady Bulldogs kept the margin narrow, trailing only by six at the end of the first quarter, but would soon fall into an even larger deficit by halftime, keeping them out of the contest for the rest of the game.
The 2-7 Lady Bulldogs will look to snag a W when they travel to Gallia Academy on Saturday night to take on the 4-2 Lady Blue.
Compared to the Lady Bulldogs, the boys’ team has shared similar early season struggles, who fell to 2-5 following their 61-44 loss to Logan last Saturday.
On Tuesday night, the Bulldogs endured their toughest loss this season when they fell to Marietta by a score of 67-65.
The game was kept close all the way up until the final minute, with both teams going back and forth with the lead. Despite having a 41-38 lead going into the final quarter, it was The Tigers who would come out on top.
Sophomore Isaiah Butcher led the Bulldogs in scoring that night with 23 points; eight from the foul line, along with three 3-point field goals.
Senior Dalton Cozart would finish with 12 points, along with junior Eli Chubb who earned himself a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
While offensively the team has been doing a great job sharing the ball and getting everyone involved, defense continue to be the team’s biggest struggle, allowing an average of 56.5 PPG.
With Tuesday’s loss, the Bulldogs fell to 2-6, their worst start since 2007-2008.
On Friday night, The Bulldog’s hosted the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes in a key conference battle before going on a week break, ending in a 67-57 victory for Athens, who never trailed during the contest.
Junior Justin Hynes was a powerhouse in his performance against the Buckeyes, scoring 20 points on 7 of 12 shooting, seven rebounds and a pair of steals.
Carrying with him the momentum from Tuesday’s game, Butcher tacked on 19 points for the Bulldogs along with six rebounds.
Eli Chubb earned himself his second straight double-double of the week, with 11 points and 12 boards. He’d also tally up a total of 5 blocks for the team, proving his flexibility on both sides of the ball.
With Friday night’s win, the Bulldogs now sit at the second spot in the TVC-Ohio standings with their 3-1 conference record despite their 3-6 overall record.
The team will have a week off for the holidays until the 29th, when the Bulldogs take on the 5-2 Jackson Ironmen.