Mission BB: Close-call season ends for Bulldogs

RONAN - The Mission Bulldogs were riding momentum into their

District 6-B play-in game on Tuesday, Feb. 14 against the Ronan

Chiefs, having defeated Ronan in their previous meeting 69-49, but

a tough shooting night proved to be their undoing as the Chiefs

ended the Bulldogs' season, 46-27.

RONAN - The Mission Bulldogs were riding momentum into their District 6-B play-in game on Tuesday, Feb. 14 against the Ronan Chiefs, having defeated Ronan in their previous meeting 69-49, but a tough shooting night proved to be their undoing as the Chiefs ended the Bulldogs' season, 46-27.

Austin Durglo scored 10 points for the Bulldogs, who trailed just 11-10 after the first quarter.

The offense struggled from there, however, as Ronan outscored Mission 15-6 in the second to take a 26-16 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, the Bulldogs were outscored 9-5 and the 14-point fourthquarter deficit was too much to overcome.

Jarred Smith-Brown, Dylan Evans and Stuart Grant each scored four points in the loss for Mission.

Even in defeat, Mission head coach Patrick Irvin was pleased with how his team competed and developed throughout the season.

"Our season was very exciting and we were competitive in just about every game we played," Irvin said. "We made a lot of progress in our overall team defense and team passing, and got much sharper as the season went on."

The Bulldogs had a much better season than their record would indicate, finishing 3-16, but playing every team tough, losing 10 games by single digits, seven of which were decided by five or fewer points.

"They showed a tremendous amount of character and battled through some tough matchups," Irvin said. "We got a lot of positive comments from fans about how much fun we were to watch."

Irvin is excited about the Bulldogs' prospects for next season, especially considering what his team learned this year.

"The guys coming back now have a clear understanding of the level of play and what we need to do in order to become more successful," Irvin said.

MISSION @ RONAN

Mission - 10 - 6 - 5 - 6 - 27

Ronan - 11 - 15 - 9 - 11 - 46

Bulldogs scoring - Austin Durglo 10, Jarred Smith-Brown 4, Dylan Evans 4, Stuart Grant 4, Paden Alexander 3, Nikko Alexander 2