Bulldogs Fight To Win Brown Jug Again

Cade Pierson – NSO

Photos by: Marianne Pierson

For the second year in a row, the Carlton Bulldogs will keep the coveted ‘Little Brown Jug’, as the host Bulldogs secured themselves the hard-fought win over rival Wrenshall, 67-59 Friday night.

It was a game of runs all night, as both teams answered each others bursts of points with runs of their own, each spurred by hard-nosed defense from the start.

After the first half of play, Carlton held a slim 31-28 lead over the Wrens in front of a packed house.

Wrenshall found success in the first half attacking the Bulldogs 2-3 zone from beyond the arc, as Nick Mattson drilled four three’s in the first half.

The Bulldogs would use the halftime break to adjust, and it worked. Mattson didn’t register a single point in the second half.

Both teams didn’t take long to get ready for the action again, as both squads were out on the floor with a few minutes left of halftime remaining, forcing the referees to expedite their break, and get the game going again.

The lead would jostle back-and-fourth a few times in second half, until the Bulldogs would use a late push, sparked by Matthew Hey, who scored double-digits in the second half alone, to finish things off.

In the end, the Bulldogs would win on a 67-59 final, as chants of “Jug! Jug! Jug!” flooded the building in the final ticking seconds.

Carlton’s Hey finished with 17 points, while Waylon Lekander matched him with 17 points of his own. Lekander was also a menace on the defensive end, tallying 6 steals.

Sam Macor followed with 13 points and 8 rebounds, Tyler Ojibway had 9 points and 7 boards, Eric Soderstrom finished with 5 points and 9 rebounds, as well as 2 blocks. Nate Nilson added 5 points off the bench, and Jackson Mickle rounded out the pack with 2 points.

For the Wrens, it was Tyler Kelley leading the charge. Kelley ended with 24 points, knocking down a game-high five three-pointers.

Also scoring for the Wrens in the hard-fought loss was Randy Wimmer with 13, Nick Mattson 12, Jared Kelley 8, and Chase Duncan with 2.

This was the third meeting between the two teams this season, with Carlton winning all three matchups on their way to a overall 10-1 record.

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