Bulldogs Season Ends in Overtime of the Region 3A Quarterfinals; Fall to Trojans 62-52 OT
The Madison Bulldogs had their season come to an end last night when they fell on the road in the Region 3A Tournament Quarterfinals in overtime to West Central, 62-52.
Madison’s season ends with an 8-13 overall record. They will graduate five seniors, four of which were starters to end the season and all five were starters at various times during the year. They’ll lose seniors Eli Barger, Elijah Sims, Andrew Comes, Chuck Callahan and Thomas Mechels.
From the moment this game tipped off it was due to be an interesting one and it didn’t disappoint in that regard. This game saw overtime and what was once a close game all night, wasn’t anywhere near it in OT. The Trojans snatched away a handful of steals, including four straight in overtime and outscored the Bulldogs 11-1 in the four minute OT period. The lone point coming from the free throw line by Ben Brooks.
The Bulldogs led going into the half 27-22 after holding the Trojans to just an eight point opening quarter of play. Coming out of the half the Trojans responded. They won the third quarter 18-9 and gained the lead, along with momentum. Though some key late-game threes by Andrew Comes and a clutch one by Shane Veenhof helped send things into OT. Those shots plus the Madison defense on the final possession to force extra basketball in Hartford.
Leaders for West Central begin with the guy who led all scorers – Krew Heier. He finished with a game-high 27 points, with 20 coming in the second half and overtime. The Trojans had one more in double figures and it was Jake Kuhl who added 11 points. West Central outscored Madison 40-25 in the second half/OT.
Ben Brooks led the scoring effort for Madison with 18 points. Six other Bulldogs scored, but none saw double figures. Next in scoring was a trio of players who had seven points – Shane Veenhof, Callahan and Barger. All seven for Barger came in the second quarter.
Conclusion
The season concludes for the Bulldogs now. Madison will look ahead to next season after a tough season in which the Bulldogs had its worst overall record in 20 seasons. They’ll return three players who saw regular minutes most of the season in Brooks, AJ Rodriguez and Myles Schneider. Along with various other players on the team who have seen action this season. As always we’ll have that Madison Bulldog coverage again next season in 2024-25 on AM 1390 Dakotas Best and AmazingMadison.com.
