The AHS boy’s decidedly rocky basketball season is over with the boys finishing with a record of 9-14. “The boys battled and battled all season, said Head Coach Michael Baker,” however, we came up a bit short.”
The boy’s won their first game in District competition in Scottsbluff against the Gering Bulldogs in a double overtime thriller. The boys were up by as much as 13 at times, yet Gering found a way to battle back and bring it into overtime. Then, Isaac Burnham hit the game winning layup 5 seconds before the buzzer sounded
The Bulldogs traveled to Scottsbluff again on Monday, February 25, to face the Scottsbluff Bearcats. The Bearcats were on top early leading at halftime 53-28. The Bulldogs didn’t stop fighting, however, and outscored the Bearcats 27-19 in the 3rd quarter, but in the end the Bulldogs didn’t have enough time to recover the huge margin and ended their season with the loss against Scottsbluff 55-74.
The Bulldog boy’s are losing some key players for next year such as seniors. Isaac Burnham and Kyler Kaping who were key contributors to the team this year especially in districts. Isaac was a 3-year starter for the Bulldogs and was on the cover of the Panhandle Prep this past winter. Kyler Kaping also played a key role on the season. Kyler did not play his sophomore year, because of a shoulder injury, so he only had two years to play for the Bulldogs, but he contributed big.
The seniors will be missed. Senior Isaac Burnham said, “ I loved playing with my team, and I love my teammates, I wouldn’t trade the team that we had this year for anyone.”
There are also some young talented players coming up from the freshman class such as Baden Shelmadine, Cole Randall, and Mike Gomez who contributed to the Junior Varity team this past season.
Coach Baker said he expects a lot out of this team in the years to come. The boy’s basketball team competed well this season and the Spud is looking forward to following them next year also.