DUBOIS — An early scoring surge and a last-ditch defensive effort weren’t quite enough for Northeast Dubois (2-2) to upset Class 1A No. 5 Orleans Bulldogs (4-0) at home Friday night, with a 45-42 heartbreaking loss on Military Recognition Night in Dubois.
The Jeeps jumped out to an early lead after trading baskets with the Bulldogs. A bucket from beyond the arc from junior Grant Goller provided a slight cushion, while an Orleans turnover, a pair of free throws from senior forward Gaige Schepers and a drive to the basket by Schepers gave the Jeeps a 9-4 lead. Northeast Dubois continued to beat the dogs, taking a 22-13 lead at the end of one period.
However, Orleans would turn up the defensive pressure in the second frame and hold the Jeeps scoreless for the first three minutes of the period, slowly chipping away at Northeast Dubois. Orleans outshot the Jeeps 12-9 in the frame. despite 12 first-half points from senior Colby Lockard. A 24 rebound basket got the Jeeps on the board to maintain a 24-17 lead with just over four minutes left in the first half. A sloppy series of possessions by both teams sent both teams to the charity stripe on multiple occasions, and a hot-handed junior Bulldog Ian Hall helped cut the Jeeps’ lead to six, 29-23 a minute before halftime.
A Jeeps run pushed the lead back to eight, 31-23 as Orleans ran down the clock for one last shot. Bulldogs junior Xavier Alston knocked down a pair from the line to close the half with Northeast Dubois in command, 31-25.
The Bulldogs came out of the game chomping at the bit, outscoring the Jeeps 6-0 in the first three minutes of the third quarter to tie the contest at 31-31. A pair of free throws from Hall gave Orleans its first lead of the night, 33-31. While Schepers drove to the basket to the field and inbounds the pass to break the scoring drought with 1:58 left in the third, Orleans Alston answered with a monster two-handed layup at the other end to keep the Bulldogs in front, 37-33. It was Schepers again on a drive down the court to cut Orleans’ lead to two, 37-35 just before the end of the quarter.
“I felt our kids played well, we got contributions from almost everybody tonight. I thought we broke down defensively inside and gave them some easy looks early, and I thought we did a better job of limiting it in the second half, said Northeast Dubois head coach Terry Friedman. “We’re looking at a possible regional opponent there and we thought we could win this game, but we just have to keep improving. I really liked our effort,
A three from Schepers opened the fourth quarter to tie the game at 37-37, but it took the Bulldogs little time to respond and recapture a 42-37 lead. The Jeeps answered with a bucket to make it 42-39, but Orleans patiently worked the ball around the floor to wind down the clock over the ensuing three minutes of play. The Jeeps would finally regain possession with just under two minutes to play, but a turnover put their defense to the test again.
A steal by the Jeeps resulted in a bucket by Goller to cut the lead to two, 43-41. Another Northeast Dubois steal ended up in the hands of both teams for a jump ball, giving the Bulldogs possession with 58.9 seconds on the clock. A clutch steal from Northeast Dubois’ 22? Gave the jeeps a chance with 40 ticks left.
With 10.9 left, Schepers drove the lane and drew a foul, but came up one shy at the line, cutting Orleans’ lead to one, 43-42. Using a full court press, the Jeeps stole the ball on the ensuing pass, but an attempt by Lockard fell short.
The Jeeps sent Orleans sophomore Bryce Jones to the line for a one-and-one, resulting in a pair of buckets to give the Bulldogs a 45-42 win to remain undefeated on the season.
“In the last quarter, we could have just overplayed, but the guys just battled and gave themselves a chance to win late,” Friedman added. “We had a shot from the rim, and if it had gone in, we would have won. I’m just proud of our guys, we’re going to try to bounce back and win tomorrow night.”
The Jeeps are set to return at 8pm today at home against the visiting Tell City Shooters.
Orleans 45, Northeast Dubois 42
Northeast Dubois 22-9-4-7-42
Northeast Dubois: Lockard 5-2-12; Scheper’s 4-4-12; Goller 3-2-8; NBetz 2-0-5; Kalb 1-0-3; PBetz 1-0-2
Orleans: Alston 6-2-14; Hall 4-2-12; Jones 2-2-6; Crocker 2-0-5; Williams 1-1-3; Allen 1-0-2; Graves 1-0-2; Love 0-1-1
3-point field goals: Northeast Dubois 2 (Kalb, NBetz), Orleans 3 (Hall 2, Crocker)
Free throws: Northeast Dubois 8-10 (Schepers 4-6, Goller 2-2), Orleans 8-11 (Alston 2-2; Jones 2-2; Hall 2-2; Love 1-2; Williams 1-2; Crocker 0-1)
Fouls: Northeast Dubois 15, Orleans 12
Orleans 54, Northeast Dubois 49
Northeast Dubois 13-13-10-13-49
Northeast Dubois: Fuhrman 10-0-26; Schröring 3-0-8; Sheetz 3-0-7; Hembree 1-0-3; Merkel 1-1-3
Orleans: Craze 3-7-13; Swayer 4-2-10; Lamb 3-0-9; Elrod 2-2-6; Russell 2-1-5; Brown 2-0-4; DeWitt 2-0-4; Sanders 1-1-3
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