Gainesville Bulldogs split games last week

The Gainesville Bulldogs varsity basketball team picked up a solid home win over Willow Springs before suffering a tough road loss to Mountain Grove last week.

“While we did a good job controlling tempo, playing defense, and rebounding against Willow, the game against Mountain Grove was almost the complete opposite,” said GHS coach Morris Jenkins. “We struggled in transition defense and rebounding, which allowed Mountain Grove to get an early lead that we never could overcome.”

Gainesville hosted Willow Springs on Tuesday, Jan. 20, earning a 58–46 victory. Three Bulldogs scored in double figures, led by Grant Leeker with 17 points. Dawson Hewett added 13 and Avery Rodrigue finished with 11. Owen Donley scored nine points, Aden Gaulding added six, and Kolby Anderson chipped in two.

Gaulding led the Bulldogs on the boards with 10 rebounds, followed by Leeker with eight. Leeker also paced the team in assists with five.

The Bulldogs’ junior varsity team dropped a close contest to Willow Springs, 41–37. Haden Evans led the way with 14 points, followed by Keegan Crouse with nine, Chase Luna with six, Corbin West with five and Keaton Dabney with three.

Gainesville traveled to Mountain Grove on Friday, Jan. 23, where the Bulldogs fell to the Panthers, 76–52. Donley scored a game-high 25 points to lead Gainesville. Hewett added 12 points and Leeker finished with 11, while Gaulding contributed four.

The Bulldogs were scheduled to begin tournament play at the Sparta Trojan Invitational on Monday, but snow-covered roads postponed the opening round. Games were tentatively rescheduled to begin Wednesday, with eighth-seeded Gainesville set to face top-seeded Sparta at 4 p.m.