Hardwood Heroes Sports
Athens Bulldogs Win Rematch Versus Marietta in Playoffs
By: Chloe Workman
Posted on:
LOGAN, Ohio- They say third time is the charm, but for the Athens Bulldogs, it only took two.
Their last go-around, the Marietta Tigers defeated the Bulldogs at the buzzer, this time Athens changed their game plan and defeated them 62-36.
What changed since the last meeting? The pace of the game. The Tigers attempted to keep a slow pace, keeping hold of the ball for nearly two minutes to start the game, but the Bulldogs quickly took over and made the game theirs.
Although throughout the first half the score was close, it was clear which team dominated throughout the ballgame. This is a much different look than what was seen in the first meeting. Leading the Bulldog push was senior Brayden Markins in what was arguably his best game of the season. He finished with 22 points, his inside jumper coming alive for him tonight. Alongside that, he grabbed ten rebounds making this a double-double effort. He also dished the ball around for seven assists for a near triple-double. Markins said after the game that after he sees the first one go through, it feels like he can’t miss. This seemed to be true as he made ten of his 15 shots.
On the flip side, The Tigers could not seem to put the ball through the hoop. Nothing seemed to fall, which explains the large scoring margin between the two games. No Tigers could score into double digits while three Bulldogs put up the those numbers. The Bulldogs take on the New Lexington Panthers in their next playoff game. The Panthers knocked off the No. 3 seed Sheridan while being only the No. 11 seed.
Earlier in the season, the Bulldogs defeated the Panthers, so this will be a dog fight for who will be moving on to the Convo for the next round.