DeKalb West took two Thursday, as they played host to Defeated. The Lady Bulldogs took a commanding win while the boys came up with a last-minute clincher for victory.

DeKalb West Lady Bulldogs 33

Defeated Lady Braves 19

Pushing the full-court press early, the Lady Bulldogs set the tempo with their aggressive style of D creating opportunities they took advantage of as Alley Beth Cook was unstoppable driving the paint with 10 points in the first quarter alone as DeKalb West outscored the Lady Braves 17-2 in the first quarter and held a 22-8 lead at the break.

Coming back in the second half with a zone, the Lady Bulldogs played it smart and kept Defeated down to five points in the second half, meanwhile hitting for 11 more points to take the win.

Cook was the game-high scorer with 13 total points’ Madison Martin hit for six points; Summer Crook four; Aly Griffith and Ella Hendrixson both scored three points; and Aniston Farler and Emma Martin both were good for two points each.

DeKalb West Bulldogs 55

Defeated Braves 54

The Bulldogs struggled early Thursday against the Braves, holding a seven-point deficit at halftime as Defeated led 30-23 at the half.

Not gaining any ground in the third quarter, the Bulldogs trailed by eight points with the Braves leading 44-36 at the start of the fourth. DeKalb West managed to tie things up at 50 with a 1:30 left on the clock after Nathaniel Crook hit from underneath and Brayden Antoniak added one from the charity stripe.

Defeated didn’t want to be defeated however, and made two quick buckets with less than a minute left to play, holding off the Bulldogs for the moment 54-50.

DeKalb West’s Jathan Willoughby closed the gap with 19 seconds on the clock adding another bucket for the Bulldogs, now just two-point underdogs.

In the ensuing melee, Bulldog Lucas Hale grabbed the rock away from Defeated and launched a picture-perfect three-point shot that was all net, giving DeKalb West a one-point lead with one second left to play 55-54.

As the crowd held its collective breath, the Braves would have to get off a spectacular shot for any hopes at victory. They didn’t and DeKalb West won the ballgame much to the delight of the home crowd.

“We came out very flat,” said Bulldog head coach Kelly Pyburn. “However the kids never gave up and  I was very proud of the way they kept fighting. 

“We tied it up several times but never led the game until the last second, but that was the most important one to lead. Lucas (Hale) had a really good game hitting some big threes. Nathaniel (Crook) also had the best game I have ever seen him play,” Pyburn said. “I rolled the dice and let the kids play out the last six seconds of the game. Lucas wanted the ball and did what he knows best - score. The team really stepped up.”

Hale had a spectacular team-high 24 points in the contest and all the Bulldogs hitting for points broke double digits. Crook with 12 points, Antoniak hit for 11 and Willoughby scored 10 points.

Defeated’s Dennis West was the game’s top scorer as he hit for 29 of the Brave’s total tally.