GUNNISON—The Bulldogs’ first game of the season against equal competition did not go smoothly.
The Gunnison boys’ basketball team suffered their first loss of the season in a rough outing on the road against Enterprise, 78-43, last Tuesday. The loss dropped the Bulldogs to 2-1 on the season, with their two wins coming against 1A teams.
Enterprise jumped on the Bulldogs early, getting out to a 10-2 lead early in the first quarter and leading 20-6 at the end of the first. Gunnison struggled not just to make baskets, but to even get to the basket for most of the first half. Even many of Gunnison’s fast breaks were chased down and either stolen or blocked.
Junior Jon Willden led the Bulldogs with 19 points in an impressive, albeit labored, performance. Willden breathed life back into the downtrodden players by nailing three straight 3-pointers, then sinking three more free throws for a personal 12-point scoring streak after the Wolves had led by as many as 39 points. Willden was also highly accurate from the charity stripe, leading to the Bulldogs shooting to a praiseworthy 69 percent from the line.
Despite the Bulldogs having some life after halftime, they couldn’t stop anything the Wolves did on the other end. Enterprise scored 30 points in the third quarter, the most points allowed by Gunnison in a single quarter since February of 2017 in a game against Emery.
The Bulldogs will be on the road this week for a Wednesday matchup against APA West Valley.
