Coyotes lose thriller

The Dodson Coyotes nearly picked up their first win of the season last Tuesday, but ultimately the team lost 68-65 to the Turner Tornadoes. The team was scheduled to play Scobey but the game was moved to Monday night. They were also scheduled to play Nashua in Nashua on Tuesday, December 20. Both games will be covered in next week's Phillips County News.

The team was led by freshman Shaun Ball who scored 22 points, 10 of which came in the third quarter.

"It was pretty good," Ball said of his team's effort. "It's better than what we have done in the past. That's what we're working on in practice; to eventually get better and better."

David Jaynes had a strong outing as he was able to rack up 15 points.

Ball was asked to describe a couple of teammates that stood out in the game.

"Tyrese Messerly," he said. "He's a team player and he will give up his own shot to pass it to someone else. He's very unselfish."

When asked about another teammate, he picked out freshman Corbin LoneBear.

"He is like Tyrese," Ball said. "He wants to get everyone involved."

Jasper Doney was another bright spot, scoring 10 points, six of which were in Dodson's 10 point fourth quarter.

Ball has played strong, leading his team in scoring so far this season. But Ball's play has been just as unselfish as he mentioned with Messerly and LoneBear.

"The first thing I do is look for my teammates," he said. "If nothing is open, I'll try to make something work. I was pretty confident, trying to stay calm and get the teammates involved as much as I could."

Ball did see ways his team could improve, as they looked for their first win of the season.

"Tonight our defense wasn't too good," he said.