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Bulldogs’ season ends in sectional round

By Jeff Yoder
Posted 3/11/20

After New Franklin’s 70-64 overtime loss to Eugene in the sectional round of the state basketball tournament, the gymnasium at Helias Catholic cleared out.

Except for a group of fans in blue …

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Bulldogs’ season ends in sectional round

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New Franklin fans cheer after Tyler Perkins beat the halftime buzzer with a 3-pointer on Wednesday.
New Franklin fans cheer after Tyler Perkins beat the halftime buzzer with a 3-pointer on Wednesday.
After New Franklin’s 70-64 overtime loss to Eugene in the sectional round of the state basketball tournament, the gymnasium at Helias Catholic cleared out.

Except for a group of fans in blue that covered about half of the court where the Bulldogs’ season had just come to an end.

A leaf blower roared, sending popcorn and wrappers raining down on anyone standing in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Bulldog coach Ross Dobson stood in the far corner of the gym, talking about his team’s recovery from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

“We just had to take each possession and have smart passes, smart shots down the stretch and I thought we really did that,” he shouted over the noise of the blower motor.

“I’m proud of the seniors, you can’t be disappointed with their effort. You see all these people waiting around just to tell everybody thank you, so you can see what this group of gentlemen meant for our New Franklin community.”

It wasn’t the result any of them wanted, but parents, friends, and community members stuck around to convey their appreciation for the way New Franklin went about the season, and the way they finished.

The Bulldogs trailed 51-41 early in the fourth quarter, but battled back with an 11-2 run. Tyler Perkins hit a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to pull within a point, but New Franklin struggled to score over the taller Eugene defenders over the next several possessions.

“You can’t practice going against that length in a normal practice,” Dobson said. “They got touches on a couple passes that we didn’t think they would be able to get to, and they got to.”

The Eagles finished with 10 blocked shots.

Eugene extended the lead to four points from the free-throw line, but Gavin Bishop pulled up and drained a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left to keep the Bulldog hopes alive.

It was a two-point game with under a second remaining when Tyler Perkins went to the line for the biggest free throws of his life.

He sank both to extend the season.

The Bulldogs went to overtime without Bishop or Jackson Dorson available as both had fouled out. On the bench, they joined fellow senior Carter Bailey, who had missed the end of the season with a knee injury.

Down to just five rotation players available, New Franklin took a 62-60 lead on a 3-pointer and a mid-range jumper from Perkins.

But the Eagles made their seventh and eighth 3-pointers of the game to retake the lead for good.

Eugene had taken at least 20 shots from behind the arc ten times during the season. Only three of those times had they made at least eight.

On Wednesday, they made eight on just 15 attempts for their best percentage of the season.

“They’re a good ball club,” Dobson said.

“We had to (choose) either losing from the inside or letting them shoot threes, and making those. We took our chances on the 3-pointers.”

Perkins and Bishop, the Bulldogs’ two leading scorers, were unable to get a shot to fall in the first quarter as layups rolled off the rim and 3-pointers rimmed out. They shook it off and combined for 17 in the second quarter.

New Franklin reduced an eight-point deficit to one, as Perkins banked in a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer off an inbounds play that started with 0.4 seconds on the clock.

Perkins finished with 22 points and Bishop scored 16.

Tre Cowans scored the first six points of the game for New Franklin and finished with 13. Crayton Gallatin gave New Franklin an 8-7 lead with a nice post move. Tysen Dowell scored seven points.

The Bulldogs will lose Bailey, Bishop, Dorson, Gallatin, and Perkins to graduation.

“They’ve showed up every day, worked their tails off every day,” Dobson said.

“They’re great leaders on and off the floor. They’ve set the tone, a lot of kids look up to those guys. They’re just a great group of kids to be around.”

New Franklin finishes the season with a record of 27-2. The Bulldogs won tournaments in Glasgow, New Franklin, Sturgeon, and a district tournament in Smithton.

“If you look back at it, this is one of our highest winning seasons we’ve had all time,” Dobson said. “We gave it all, I’m very proud of them.”

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