Sports

Braves season starts with drama

By Bottineau Courant Staff

12/10/2013

The Bottineau Braves basketball team earned a split as they played twice to kick off the season’s first week.

Bottineau hosted Rolla and fell 61-60 to the Bulldogs last Monday. The Braves bounced back with a 54-20 victory in Mohall against the Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood (MLS) Mavericks last Friday.

First last Monday the Bulldogs won their first contest in more than a season as they hung on to beat the Braves by one.

Rolla took the lead early and led by six after one quarter and nine at halftime. The Braves made a run in the fourth quarter and led by one after a three-pointer from sophomore Parker Engelhard.

However, after reaching the foul line the Bulldogs re-took the lead and the Braves were unable to hit a shot at the buzzer and fell 61-60.

Sean Soukup led the Bulldogs with 19 points, while Weston Schoening had 12 points inside for Rolla in the win.

Bottineau was led by senior Garrett Pollman’s 19 points, while Engelhard finished with 15. Junior Christian St. Claire added 14 points in the losing effort.

It was the first win since February of 2012 for the Bulldogs who went 0-21 last season.

Bottineau bounced back from the loss as they dominated MLS on the road on Friday.

The Braves’ defense was strong in the first half as they only allowed three points in the first quarter and eight points in the first half.

It was a 32-8 lead at halftime that expanded throughout the second half and wound up in a 34-point win for Bottineau.

Bottineau’s scoring came from several sources, but Engelhard led the team with 12 points and Pollman added 11 in the win. Senior Jake Carroll stepped up inside with eight points.

Jesse Mott was the leader for the Mavericks with six points.

The Braves (1-1) will play only once in the upcoming week as they travel to Des Lacs to play the Des Lacs-Burlington Lakers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.