For the second time the Bulldogs defeated the Elk City Elks by one point and for the second time Derrick Bull hit the final shot that gave the Elks a loss.
It was Dec. 1 that Bull drained a three point shot in the season opener at Elk City that lifted the Bulldogs to a one-point victory over Elk City.
Tuesday night, he hit base line runner with 21 seconds left which was the final score of the game and gave the Bulldogs a 43-42 victory over the Elks.
This time Elk City had time to answer Bull’s basket. Coach Garrett Mantle called a time out with 14.7 seconds to plot strategy.
As expected the ball fell into the hands the Elks’ best shooter Blake Jordan in the waning seconds. However Altus’ Mylan Ward put heavy pressure on Jordan who forced up a shot that was rebound by Caleb Martin for the Bulldogs ending the game.
“We didn’t want to lose track of where he ((Jordan) was at. He is their best free throw shooter for sure. We told Erick Sanders not to help off of him because we figured they would have something designed for him. Whether they did or not I don’t know. Fortunately he came off of a screen and Mylan took him and Mylan had enough awareness to stay with them.. That’s exactly what we wanted him to do.”
It was a lackluster start to the game as both teams combined to score only 32 points in the first half and it turned out to be a see-saw affair in the second 16 minutes
In the second half the score was tied three times and lead exchanged hands 14 times.
One thing was for sure Mantle had designs to slow down Bull who went into the game averaging 23 points per contest. Elk City hounded Bull with double teams and he didn’t get off a lot of shots.
“That’s what people are going to do” Rick Bull said. “He got frustrated but that was big shot he hit.”
Along with Bull, Sanders also scored 10 points to lead the Bulldogs in scoring.
Zack Mattox tallied 17 points and Jordan 10 points to pace the Elks, who saw their record dip to 8-3.
Bulldog notes: Bull was asked how difficult it was come off a 18 day break for the holiday’s play a game and take another week off. “That’s tough.” Bull said. saying it’s hard to get any continuity going, “On the other hand they (Elk City) played last Tuesday and they were in a tournament Thursday, Friday and Saturday. They got second in whatever tournament they played in. Our kids really played well when it counted.”
Altus is now 4-5 on the season. They will travel to Cache on Friday before returning home to play Clinton on Tuesday. The following Thursday the Bulldogs will host the Shortgrass Tournament.
Altus 43, Elk City 42
Boys
Altus – Bull 4-2-10, Cox 3-0-8, Sanders 3-2-10, Ward 0-4-4, Martin 3-2-9, Jackson 1-0-2. Totals 14-10-43. 3 point goals – Cox 2, Sanders 2, Martin
Elk City – Jordan 4-1-10, Reed 1-0-2, Mattox 6-5-17, Davis 2-1-6, Jackson 2-3-7. Totals 15-10-42. 3 point goals – Jordan, Davis
Altus 11 4 16 12 – 43
Elk City 10 5 17 10 – 42
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