Bulldogs win physical game against Marshall

By Abigail Hodgson

UCA Sportswriting

The Bulldogs improved to 5-1 Tuesday after an intense victory over a physical Marshall team, 68-51, in the St. Joseph Family Activity Center.

St. Joseph was called for 13 fouls on the night with Marshall having just seven; however, the Bobcats looked to be the more physical team on the court that night.

Bulldog coach Brent Bruich talked to his team at halftime about keeping composure and not letting Marshall get in the way of a win.

“It was a very physical game and we talked about keeping our heads and cooling our heads to prevail and to show a lot of poise out there,” Bruich said. “That’s one of the things we have as our goal, to stay composed, and we want to represent ourselves and our school well.

"We are a Catholic school and we want to act in the Christian way.”

The Bulldogs began the game with high intensity and pressure on defense, jumping to a quick lead in the first quarter, forcing Marshall to trail the rest of the game.

“We started the game really well and the other team had to play behind," Bruich said. "They were 10 points behind the majority of the game. Once we got that 10-point lead, we were just trying to save some legs and play good half-court defense from there.”

Senior Landon Enderlin led the Bulldogs with 16 points for the night. The Bulldogs could have had a more convincing lead; however, a couple of missed opportunities kept the game tighter.

“I think we need to be in better shape; I think we got tired at the end defensively and we didn’t move the ball as crisp as we needed to on offense,” Bruich said. “We missed some free throws and didn’t finish some plays, but we’re always going to have something to work on.”

Bruich said he was proud of the total team effort and high-pressure defense for the night, allowing some steals and getting points early to help the Bulldogs clinch a win.

The Bulldogs travel to play England on Friday.