The DeKalb West School Bulldogs basketball team has started its season and has come out strong with several wins.
On Oct. 28-29 the Bulldogs were at home, where they hosted a couple of nearby rivals. On the first day the Bulldogs took on New Middleton, and set the pace for the season.
The Bulldogs came out strong, getting 12 points in the first quarter and keeping New Middleton off the board. Damien Dishman, Ethan Martin and Cody Hale each had a two-point shot, while Paxton Butler had a two and three-pointer.
New Middleton got five points in the second quarter, but the Bulldogs matched the points and kept the 17-5 lead into the half. Martin and Hale each had a two-pointer in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs stretched the lead as the second half began, scoring 10 points to New Middleton’s five. Butler, Jessie Smith, and Grayson Redmon each had a two-point shot while Dishman had two.
Redmon would end the scoring for the Bulldogs in the fourth quarter, coming away with a two-point shot and giving the Bulldogs a 29-13 win. Butler went one for one on free throw attempts, while Dishman was one for two. Smith was zero for two.
On the second day of the tourney the Bulldogs faced Defeated in a game where DWS pulled away early.
The Bulldogs came away with 15 points in the first quarter, compared to Defeated’s three. Paxton Butler, Cody Hale, Jacob Frazier, and Jessie Smith each had a two-pointer in the quarter, while Damien Dishman had three.
Driver and Smith would make the only two-pointers of the second quarter, with the Bulldogs retaining a comfortable 19-8 lead going into the half.
The Bulldogs would put up seven more points in the third quarter, with Grayson Redmon getting two two-point shots and Frazier getting one. DWS kept a 10-point lead going into the fourth quarter, 26-16.
The team would keep up the pressure into the fourth quarter, scoring 15 more points to Defeated’s 13. Dishman and Butler came away with two two-point shots, with Driver getting one.
Dishman and Martin each had one point on four attempted free throws, while Butler went two for five. Frazier and Hale each went one for two attempts. The Bulldogs got the win, 41-30.
On Nov. 4 the boys were on the road to take on Tuckers’ Crossroads in what would turn out to be a close game. The game would be tied at the end of four, and would force the Bulldogs to turn it up in overtime.
The Bulldogs came out strong in the first quarter, taking the early lead, 11-8. Damien Dishman and Brady Driver each had two two-point shots, while Ethan Martin came away with a three-pointer.
The team would keep the scoring going in the second quarter, getting eight more points, but Tuckers’ inched closer, scoring ten points of their own and narrowing the lead 19-18 at the half.  Paxton Butler and Cody Hale each had a two-point shot in the second quarter, while Grayson Redmon had a three-pointer.
It looked as if the Bulldogs might run away with the game in the third quarter, with the team scoring 11 points to Tuckers’ four. Dishman had one two-point shot, while Butler had two, and Martin came away with another three-pointer. But it was not enough, and Tuckers closed the gap in the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs only had six points in the fourth quarter, with Driver getting the only two-point shot and all other points coming from free throws. Tuckers would not go away and managed to score 14 points to tie the game 36-36 before time expired.
The game came down to overtime, and it was Dishman that stepped up. Dishman had three two-pointers in overtime to score six of the team’s nine points. Tuckers’ only came away with four points and DWS would get the hard-fought win, 45-40.
Martin had five points off of eight free throw attempts, while Butler went four for nine. Driver went one for two in the game.
On Nov. 9 the Bulldogs traveled to Smith County to participate in the Forks River tournament. The team took on Forks River in what would turn out to be a nail-biter.
Right from the beginning the game stayed close with DWS scoring 11 points in the first quarter to Forks’ 10. Dishman came away with three two-point shots, while Driver and Frazier each had one.
In the second quarter it looked as if Forks might pull away with the team scoring 15 points to the Bulldogs’ nine. Butler and Driver would each get a two-point shot before the half ended, but Forks was up, 26-19.
In the third quarter the Bulldogs turned their game up a notch, scoring 12 points with Forks’ only getting four. Martin had three two-pointers in the quarter, with Butler getting one. The Bulldogs had a one-point lead, 31-30.
The fourth quarter stayed close, with Dishman and Driver each getting a two-pointer and the team scoring six points, but Forks was able to inch by, coming away with eight points and the 38-37 win.
Driver was six for nine on free throws, Martin and Butler were two for two, and Dishman went one for two.