Dawgs drop pair of games
By GEORGIA PURDY

After a great season opener against Carthage, the Jasper Bulldogs ran into trouble with Vidor and Pollak Central, losing both of those 79-47 and 62-31, respectively.

"We didn't shoot well in the first half in either game," coach Terry Young said. "We also let both of these teams get the offensive rebounds and you can't do that."

At the half, Jasper was behind 41-13, then came back to score 36 points in the second half to Vidor's 40.

Vidor is a Class 4A team and an early season loss to them wasn't significant; however, the loss to Central, a strong Region III contender, gave Young an opportunity to see what his team will have to do if they get into post-season play as expected.

"Central is strong, an allsenior team that has been playing together since they were freshmen. They have sound fundamentals and since they don't play football, they play both spring and summer league ball." Young said. "That's what you have to do to stay competitive. They certainly gave us a standard for our district and for the region. We've got to improve our shooting and come out strong in the first quarter. You can't get behind with a team like this."

Against Vidor, Roman Land led the scoring with 10 points, followed by Desmond Smith, nine; and Roderick Kyles, eight.

Against Central,

RaDarwin Adams led with nine points, followed by Dominique Bailey with eight. Adams also had one assist, one charge, three offensive rebounds and one steal.

Desmond Smith had four defensive rebounds and one steal. Roman Land had one assist, one block, two defensive rebounds and one steal. Danterio Anderson stole the ball three times, had one assist, two dives to the floor, and one offensive rebound. DJ Jackson and Terrance Avant had one defensive rebound each and Aaron Garrett had one offensive.

Keith Graham played only a few minutes and has been resting for a week to allow a pulled muscle to heal.

Despite these losses, Young is still optimistic.

"I feel good about this team," he said. "We have to make some adjustments. We have to improve our shooting and play like the 'home' team when we are away, but we will be working on the things we need to fix."

Junior varsity won two of four games in the Hudson tournament. The freshman team won one and lost three.

Jasper was playing LCM at home Tuesday night and will compete in the Huntington tournament Nov. 30-Dec. 5. They will meet Pollack-Central again Dec. 5 at the Bulldog Gymnasium. Freshmen begin at 5 p.m. with JV and varsity to follow.