The Bulldog basketball season came to a close 290 miles away in Sanford on Friday night. Haxtun traveled to the southern corner of the state in the first round of Regional action that pitted the Bulldogs against the Mustangs in 2A post-season play.

Haxtun entered the 32 team bracket as the 26th seeded team which placed them in a bracket against seventh ranked Sanford in the first round of Regional play.

The Bulldogs jumped to a one-point advantage after the first quarter but Sanford stepped it up on offense, adding 21 points in the second quarter to hold a 33-24 advantage at the half. The second half brought additional defensive pressure from the home town Mustangs who rolled to a 62-34 win to advance in post-season play. The loss ends the 2023-24 season for the Bulldogs.

The win for Sanford advanced the team to play the following day where the Mustangs met up with 10th seeded Merino. Sandford picked up a 59-40 win over the Rams to qualify for the great 8 and a chance to play at the State Tournament later this week. The Mustangs will face second seeded Simla in the first round at State.

The Bulldogs ended the season with a 10-10 overall record and 3-5 in league play. The team won four of seven games at home and went 5-5 on the road.

“I’m very proud of resiliency this team showed throughout the year. It was a season of ups and downs and despite if things were going good or bad the boys showed up every day and worked as hard they could,” said Head Coach Jayden Stieb.

This year’s team includes four senior’s on the roaster: Mike Scholten, Michael Gerk, Maclin Tempel and Kyle Fryrear.

“This is a special group of seniors. They were freshman the first year I started as the assistant coach in Haxtun,” Stieb said. “Although each year has brought change, this group has always been there. I haven’t coached a team that didn’t have Michael Gerk in the starting lineup. They have done a ton for our program. I’m grateful that I was able be their coach and watch them grow as players and as young men.”

Gerk, Tempel and sophomore Ryland Wolff led the Bulldogs on the scoreboard this season. Gerk averaged 15.9 points per game while Tempel averaged 13.4. Wolff totaled 9.1 points per game.

Under the basket, Tempel earned an average of 10.5 rebounds per game, the team high, followed by Gerk with an average 8.4 rebounds per game.

“As coaches we were really happy with the younger guys. They impressed us all season. I’m really looking forward to seeing them play important minutes in the future. There is a lot of work to do but their potential is exciting,” said Stieb.