Dodge City Dominates Defensively in Blowout Win over Ulysses
DODGE CITY, KS. – Ulysses hung under their basket, swaying side-to-side, yelling back and forth to each other. The Tigers came into Dodge City with momentum, and moments before tipoff, made all the noise on a quiet night at The Fieldhouse.
Dodge City looked on, unnerved. Dodge City played on, unmoved. The Red Demons put together a fearless performance building into their holiday break.
Tuesday night brought victory for the Dodge City Red Demons at home, 58-31, against the Ulysses Tigers at The Fieldhouse. The 31 points by Ulysses was the fewest given up by a DCHS team since January 11th, 2021, when it held Guymon to 26.
“We had a lot of active hands tonight,“ head coach Shane Troughber remarked. “We were able to pressure the ball and move.”
Dodge City (2-4) held the Tigers to just three makes on 11 shots in the first quarter. DCHS used an 8-0 run in the early stage of the frame to lead, taking a 10-6 lead after one.
The defense was even stronger in the second quarter. The Demons limited the Tigers to just one point in the second, the lone free throw from Senior Carsen Walker.
DCHS used a strong 10-1 run to take a 13-point lead into the break. Forwards Tochi Okoro and Claudio Diaz combined for six second-quarter points.
A key spark from the bench came from Bryson Unzueta, who scored his first points of the season in the frame, adding five assists.
“We struggled to come out with energy, it was one of those nights where the crowd wasn’t loud, we weren’t loud,” Troughber said. “It was nice to see Bryson Unzueta provide a spark, get five assists, [and] play some tough defense.”
Ulysses (3-4) was ice cold from downtown all game long. It took the Tigers almost 16 minutes to hit their first three pointer, with DCHS answering with a Ty Scheck triple moments later.
Scheck finished with seven second-half points for the Demons in the victory. Dodge City had out-scored Ulysses 21-5 at one point in the second half.
“We knew that we had a really tough schedule the first three games of the year, also with Northwest,” Troughber said. “We learned some tough lessons, we were able to come together, and strengthen each other.”
Three Demons scored in double-figures, with Okoro adding 14 points, Anthony Perez chipping in with 12 points, and Jaiden Springer recording 11 points.
The Red Demons will have a two-week holiday break of action before returning to The Fieldhouse to take on the Garden Plain Owls. Coverage on Z98 begins immediately following the conclusion of girls’ basketball, which is scheduled for a 5:30 P.M. tipoff.
