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DODGE CITY —
The hype was there.
Mix in a Dodge City team coming off of a three-game winning streak and perhaps its best performance of the season Friday night against Great Bend, then add the presence of Wichita North’s Conner Frankamp, who is committed to play for the University of Kansas, and you have a recipe for great basketball.
Unfortunately, the Demons were unable to keep their first-half magic working against the Redskins, falling to the visitors 52-43.
The Dodge City Field House was packed and ready for Saturday’s contest featuring the 6-foot-1 junior Frankamp, who had been featured as one of the best basketball talents to ever grace the floor of the 11-year-old gym.
Holding him back
Things couldn’t have started any better for the Demons, who were able to contain Frankamp with the shutdown defense of Jordan Doan, Trey Hallman and Isaiah Bradshaw. The three players stuck to the junior as if they were stitched to his jersey.
“We were kind of concerned we might wear (Isaiah) out for offense, but I don’t think it affected him,” said head coach Dennis Hamilton. “He did a really good job. We were just trying to ‘man-drill’ him, where you just face guard him and don’t let him touch. It worked well for the first half, but not so much in the second.”
On the offensive end, Dodge City was on fire, sinking perimeter shots and working the ball to the inside, where the Demons found success with Hallman and Matt Goedeken.
With Frankamp limited to a three-point bucket, the Demons exited the first quarter with a 12-11 advantage, thanks to some bombs from Bradshaw.
The second quarter was more of the same for Dodge, as they continued to contain the KU commit. But they were unable to add much to their lead, going back and forth with the visiting Redskins. While Frankamp was being limited to well underneath his 29-point scoring average, guard Zach Beard was able to step up and nail some big shots for North.
The halftime buzzer sounded with the Demons up by two and Frankamp visibly frustrated at the lack of open shots. And, the Demons were able to contain with Hallman on the bench early thanks to foul trouble.
“A lot of that was done with Trey on the bench. He picked up his second foul near the end of the first quarter, and we played the whole second quarter without him,” Hamilton said. “I thought our kids at that point stepped up and gave us a big boost offensively, which is what we needed. We were a little more deliberate on offense, which is what we needed to be, and it sounded pretty good at halftime.”
Despite their hot shooting during the first half (42 percent), the Redskins went to the foul line 11 times and were able to keep the game within striking distance, even though they managed a shooting percentage of only 31 percent.
The third quarter would be the ultimate undoing for the Demons, as they were unable to take advantage of their momentum coming out of the locker room. Frankamp, despite not sinking a lot of shots, was able to work his way to the foul line throughout the second half, going 12-for-13 and pushing the North lead to 14 points at one time.
During the Redskins’ run, Dodge was unable to buy a bucket during that third quarter, as they were outscored 18-8.
The fourth quarter would feature more scoring from the Demons, but unfortunately, it was more of the same from the Redskins. They went to the foul line 21 times in the second half, making 16 shots.
After firing up a 42 percent clip for the first half, the bottom fell from underneath the Demon offense as they were forced to attempt long-range shots to get back into the game, shooting 32 percent for the second half.
Despite the nine-point loss, Dodge City was still able to outrebound the Redskins and turned the ball over only nine times.
Frankamp finished the game with 28 points, one below his season average. Most of that came during the latter stages of the game, with the Demons fouling to try to build up a comeback.
“He’s one of those players that you’re not going to hold down completely and to hold him under 30 and under his average, it’s not all that bad,” Hamilton said. “We just didn’t get enough offensive firepower from our guys to take advantage of that. Our numbers just weren’t good enough.”
Bradshaw led the Demons with 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting from behind the arc, while Hallman finished with 11 points while playing most of the game with foul trouble. Goedeken led the team in rebounding with seven, while adding 8 points.
The loss drops the Demons to 4-4 overall as they gear up for the Tournament of Champions, which is set to get under way Thursday afternoon inside the United Wireless Arena. The Demons' first-round opponent will be Hays, which, despite being 3-5, is a Western Athletic Conference opponent that will give Dodge a run for their money.
“We better be ready to play. They are going to come in and are going to get after it,” Hamilton said. “A Rick Keltner-coached ball club will be defensively sound, and they are going to shoot a lot threes. If they are falling and we’re not rebounding, it could be a long night.
"It might be a situation of two teams and their will and who’s going to win out. We’ve got a little of that 'refuse to lose' mentality, and it might need to rear its ugly head come Thursday night.”
The hype was there.
Mix in a Dodge City team coming off of a three-game winning streak and perhaps its best performance of the season Friday night against Great Bend, then add the presence of Wichita North’s Conner Frankamp, who is committed to play for the University of Kansas, and you have a recipe for great basketball.
Unfortunately, the Demons were unable to keep their first-half magic working against the Redskins, falling to the visitors 52-43.
The Dodge City Field House was packed and ready for Saturday’s contest featuring the 6-foot-1 junior Frankamp, who had been featured as one of the best basketball talents to ever grace the floor of the 11-year-old gym.
Holding him back
Things couldn’t have started any better for the Demons, who were able to contain Frankamp with the shutdown defense of Jordan Doan, Trey Hallman and Isaiah Bradshaw. The three players stuck to the junior as if they were stitched to his jersey.
“We were kind of concerned we might wear (Isaiah) out for offense, but I don’t think it affected him,” said head coach Dennis Hamilton. “He did a really good job. We were just trying to ‘man-drill’ him, where you just face guard him and don’t let him touch. It worked well for the first half, but not so much in the second.”
On the offensive end, Dodge City was on fire, sinking perimeter shots and working the ball to the inside, where the Demons found success with Hallman and Matt Goedeken.
With Frankamp limited to a three-point bucket, the Demons exited the first quarter with a 12-11 advantage, thanks to some bombs from Bradshaw.
The second quarter was more of the same for Dodge, as they continued to contain the KU commit. But they were unable to add much to their lead, going back and forth with the visiting Redskins. While Frankamp was being limited to well underneath his 29-point scoring average, guard Zach Beard was able to step up and nail some big shots for North.
The halftime buzzer sounded with the Demons up by two and Frankamp visibly frustrated at the lack of open shots. And, the Demons were able to contain with Hallman on the bench early thanks to foul trouble.
“A lot of that was done with Trey on the bench. He picked up his second foul near the end of the first quarter, and we played the whole second quarter without him,” Hamilton said. “I thought our kids at that point stepped up and gave us a big boost offensively, which is what we needed. We were a little more deliberate on offense, which is what we needed to be, and it sounded pretty good at halftime.”
Despite their hot shooting during the first half (42 percent), the Redskins went to the foul line 11 times and were able to keep the game within striking distance, even though they managed a shooting percentage of only 31 percent.
The third quarter would be the ultimate undoing for the Demons, as they were unable to take advantage of their momentum coming out of the locker room. Frankamp, despite not sinking a lot of shots, was able to work his way to the foul line throughout the second half, going 12-for-13 and pushing the North lead to 14 points at one time.
During the Redskins’ run, Dodge was unable to buy a bucket during that third quarter, as they were outscored 18-8.
The fourth quarter would feature more scoring from the Demons, but unfortunately, it was more of the same from the Redskins. They went to the foul line 21 times in the second half, making 16 shots.
After firing up a 42 percent clip for the first half, the bottom fell from underneath the Demon offense as they were forced to attempt long-range shots to get back into the game, shooting 32 percent for the second half.
Despite the nine-point loss, Dodge City was still able to outrebound the Redskins and turned the ball over only nine times.
Frankamp finished the game with 28 points, one below his season average. Most of that came during the latter stages of the game, with the Demons fouling to try to build up a comeback.
“He’s one of those players that you’re not going to hold down completely and to hold him under 30 and under his average, it’s not all that bad,” Hamilton said. “We just didn’t get enough offensive firepower from our guys to take advantage of that. Our numbers just weren’t good enough.”
Bradshaw led the Demons with 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting from behind the arc, while Hallman finished with 11 points while playing most of the game with foul trouble. Goedeken led the team in rebounding with seven, while adding 8 points.
The loss drops the Demons to 4-4 overall as they gear up for the Tournament of Champions, which is set to get under way Thursday afternoon inside the United Wireless Arena. The Demons' first-round opponent will be Hays, which, despite being 3-5, is a Western Athletic Conference opponent that will give Dodge a run for their money.
“We better be ready to play. They are going to come in and are going to get after it,” Hamilton said. “A Rick Keltner-coached ball club will be defensively sound, and they are going to shoot a lot threes. If they are falling and we’re not rebounding, it could be a long night.
"It might be a situation of two teams and their will and who’s going to win out. We’ve got a little of that 'refuse to lose' mentality, and it might need to rear its ugly head come Thursday night.”
