DEER LODGE - The Mission Bulldogs and Deer Lodge Wardens are

about as evenly matched as two teams can be. Unfortunately, it was

Deer Lodge's turn to gain the upper hand.

The Wardens couldn't stop Bulldog baller Stuart Grant, but they

contained him enough to pull out a 61-58 victory in Class B action

on Saturday, Jan. 21.

DEER LODGE - The Mission Bulldogs and Deer Lodge Wardens are about as evenly matched as two teams can be. Unfortunately, it was Deer Lodge's turn to gain the upper hand.

The Wardens couldn't stop Bulldog baller Stuart Grant, but they contained him enough to pull out a 61-58 victory in Class B action on Saturday, Jan. 21.

Grant scored 25 points, one week after posting 37 against Troy, while Dylan Evans added 10 and Austin Durglo nine, but the Wardens outscored Mission 19-16 in the deciding fourth quarter to earn the victory.

"Stuart was pressing early in the season and forcing up a lot of shots," Mission head coach Patrick Irvin said. "He is now starting to relax and take what the defense gives him.

"When one player gets hot it really opens things up for the rest of the team because the defense must adjust to stop him," Irvin added.

In the back-and-forth affair, the Bulldogs led 16-15 after one, but trailed 31-30 at halftime. Appropriately, Mission outscored Deer Lodge 12-11 in the third to go into the final eight minutes knotted at 42, but the Wardens flipped the script on the Bulldogs this time around. In their previous meeting this season, Mission outscored Deer Lodge 13-10 in the final stanza to eke out a 46-44 win but on Saturday, it was Deer Lodge's 19-16 fourth-quarter edge that earned them the victory.

"They are a physical team that talks a lot of trash and our guys don't back down from that type of challenge," Irvin said. "We are hoping to see them again before the season is over."

Nikko Alexander contributed eight points, while Jarred Smith-Brown added five and Will Powell one for the Bulldogs (2-9).

Despite recent struggles, Mission's offense is starting to click, having put up 119 points in their last two games. In their three games prior to those, they scored just 122.

"Our passing has been an ongoing project all year," Irvin said. "We have worked hard on it in practice and are now starting to see better passing and decision-making in games. This more than anything has helped us put more points on the board."

Mission will be busy this week, but won't have to hit the road, as they entertained Bigfork on Tuesday (results were unavailable at press time). The Bulldogs then get a home contest against Florence on Saturday before hosting Charlo on Monday, Jan. 30 in a makeup of their postponed game from Jan. 19.

DEER LODGE 61, MISSION 58

Mission - 16 - 14 - 12 - 16 - 58

D.L. - 15 - 16 - 11 - 19 - 61

Bulldogs scoring - Stuart Grant 25, Dylan Evans 10, Austin Durglo 9, Nikko Alexander 8, Jarred Smith-Brown 5, Will Powell 1