It’s been a struggle for the Rolla High School boys’ basketball team much of this season. But it could always be worse for the Bulldogs.
They could be the West Plains Zizzers.
Following Saturday afternoon’s game West Plains head coach Jeff Jennewein was asked what his record was. Pausing to think, Jennewein said, “Three wins....and a whole lot of losses.”
That loss total increased at the RHS gym Saturday, as the Zizzers were belted by Rolla 67-41 in Ozark Conference action.
The win was a sigh of relief for the Bulldogs, who improve to 7-12 overall and 1-3 in the conference. The struggles continued for West Plains, now 3-16 and 0-5.
The game had been scheduled for Friday night but was backed up a day because of the snowy weather. Because both Rolla and West Plains were also scheduled to compete in the Licking Jayvee Tournament on Saturday, only a varsity game was held at the RHS gym. As it turned out, Licking postponed it tournament games as well.
The Bulldogs hope the weather cooperates on Tuesday, as they are scheduled to host league foe Springfield Parkview on Senior Night. The junior varsity game is scheduled for 6 p.m. with the varsity contest to follow.
Bulldog head coach Mark Miller felt that it was perhaps a good thing for his squad to have a little extra time due to the snow. Rolla had a pair of second-half collapses earlier in the week in losses to Lebanon and Owensville.
There was no letdown Saturday, however.
“When it first happened (the postponement) we were very disappointed,” Miller said. “We wanted to play Friday. But as it turned out, getting to play Saturday was a little more leisurely and maybe that played in our favor.
“We tried to get something fresh going, because we’ve had our share of struggles. We put in a half-court trap for this game. By no means was it perfect, but we got some turnovers and forced them to shoot some shots they probably didn’t want to.”
Rolla had success inside early on. Brendon Dowdy, a 6-4 senior, fired in eight points in the first quarter to power the Bulldogs to a 16-9 early advantage. RHS outscored the Zizzers 12-10 in the second quarter to take a 28-19 halftime edge.
The two teams traded baskets much of the third period, and Rolla took a 40-30 edge into the fourth quarter.
An 11-2 run to start the fourth quarter allowed Rolla to pull away. A three-pointer by 6-5 junior Andrew Barnes at the 5:28 mark upped the Bulldog lead to 51-32. RHS would lead by at least 16 the rest of the way.
Twelve players scored for the Bulldogs. Dowdy led the way with 19 points and nine rebounds while 6-2 senior Andy Giger added 12 points and four assists and 6-3 sophomore Keegan Garner had six boards.
Junior forward Keegan Bowen led West Plains with 13 points.
“I felt like we did a better job taking good shots,” Miller said. “We got a lead, worked the ball offensively and got better shots.”
