Bulldogs Hang On for the Win in Season Opener; Defeat Huskies, 66-59

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The Madison Bulldogs walked away victorious on Saturday after their season opener, taking down Elk Point-Jefferson, 66-59 at home.

The Bulldogs are now 1-0 overall after the win. They came out the same way the Lady Bulldogs did. By making four straight threes to begin their game. A pair from Charles Callahan, one from Eli Barger and another from Andrew Comes. It all led to a commanding 22-8 lead after the first quarter and Madison held on for the win.

Elk Point-Jefferson was led by the guy who nearly brought them back in this game late, Ashton Fairbanks with 12 points. Nine of which came in the fourth quarter where the Huskies had 27 points as a team. EPJ had three other players in double figures, joining Fairbanks. Kayden Moore and Evan Fornia had 11 each and Reed Saylor added 10.

The Huskies began slow, but picked up their scoring as the game went on. They shot just 31.6% in the first half and 68% in the second half. EPJ never led in the game against Madison. They committed 19 total turnovers with nine coming from Bulldog steals.

The Bulldogs had three players in double figures. Led by Comes who had 14 points with three made threes. Followed by Ben Brooks with 12 and Myles Schneider with 11. Five different Bulldogs connected on a three. Madison held the Huskies to just 2-for-12 (16.7%) from deep.

Madison’s defense looked its best early in the game. Brooks had five blocks to lead the Bulldogs and they had nine steals as a team. Three steals coming from Shane Veenhof to lead the way in that department. The Bulldogs had 21 total fouls in the game, double digit fouls in both halves. Including four different players with three or more personal fouls.