Bulldogs Defend the Fieldhouse in Senior Night Win
- RoMoAthletics
- Jan 18
- 4 min read
January 18, 2026
With only 5 regular season home games for the Bulldogs this year, every home game is special. But when you boast a varsity roster made up of 8 seniors, well… senior night makes it extra special.
The #5 Ranked team in Class 6, the Rolla Bulldogs made sure that former Ozark Conference rival, the Camdenton Lakers understood that the conditions were not good for boating from the opening tip.
Setting the Tone
It was a packed house, on a blustery Friday evening to pay tribute to the 8 Bulldog seniors, and they did not disappoint. Before the game, the seniors were recognized which while a great moment, always seems to cause a break in the normal pre-game routine.
It wasn’t any different on that night as the Bulldogs went 0-7 from deep in the opening quarter and the Lakers only managed to knock down one of their 7 attempts. But it was the tone set by the Bulldog defense that calmed any potential nerves the crowd might have felt.
On the opening possession, the Bulldogs were able to find 6’4” sr guard Ethan Brown at the high post who then dropped it down to the big man, 6’8” sr forward Paxton Ledbetter for the drop step bucket. “We knew from film study that they would stick to their 2-3 zone defense and we wanted to attack the high post and get the dump down or kick out for an open 3 when they collapsed,” said Brown.
On the next possession, the Bulldogs put on their press and 6’5” Sr forward Nash Robinson recovered a Laker turnover, passed it up ahead to 6’2” Sr guard Jenson Thomas who lobbed it up to Brown for the alley-oop dunk to bring the Bulldog faithful to their feed.
Bulldogs Ignore the No Wake Zone
The Lakers may have hoped for smooth sailing, but the Bulldogs defense had other plans. It was the active hands by the Bulldogs that made the Laker guard uncomfortable from the beginning. In the first quarter it was 9 defections that led to 2 steals and 3 forced turnovers. Nobody was a bigger pest than 6’1” Sr guard Landen Richter, who had 4 deflections and a steal in that opening quarter.
That momentum carried over to the 2nd quarter as they racked up 8 more deflections and 6 steals as well as forcing a whopping 8 turnovers. The Bulldogs held the the Lakers scoreless until the 2:15 mark in the 2nd period. As they say, defense leads to offense, and the Bulldogs proved that out getting 11 points in transition for the 2nd quarter.
They also found their long range shooting stroke going 4-7 from behind the arc in the quarter. The Bulldogs didn’t hit their first 3 of the game until just over 5 minutes left in the period when 6’4” Sr sniper Cooper Gideon hit his first of back-to-back 3’s. It was followed up by a Thomas 3 pointer to cap off three consecutive deep balls by the Bulldogs as well as an 18-0 run to expand the lead to 30-9.
C-Giddy continues his hot shooting from long range as he is shooting 55% from 3 in his last 4 games.
Seniors, Seniors Everywhere
It was a special night for the 8 seniors, all of whom scored and contributed. This class has a record of 75-24 through their high school career and have high hopes for a post season run. In all 13 players played in the varsity game with 11 players putting up points.
Four year starter 6’4” Sr forward Easton Smith, has embraced his evolving role as your prototypical glue-guy. The Truman State football commit, has sacrificed individual stats as he has transformed his body to prepare for his college career and become the physical inside presence and screen setter that the Bulldogs need on both ends of the court.
It was a great night for 6’0” Sr guard Jalen Forbis who recently became eligible and was able to play in his first varsity action. The high energy Forbis recorded his first varsity points and handed out 2 assists as well as showcasing what the Bulldogs can expect to see on defense with 3 deflections, 2 steals and a block.
The Wrap Up
The overall aggressiveness by the Bulldogs showed up on both ends of the court. They attacked the rim going 17-20 from the free throw line. Defensively, they recorded 15 steals to the Lakers 1 and had 24 deflections using their switching defense versus only 2 by the Lakers who chose to sit in a 2-3 zone. The pressure was evident in the 19 turnovers the Bulldogs created while only committing 2 of their own.
Brown led the Bulldogs in scoring with 19 points in 3 quarters of play. He is averaging 33ppg in 2026 and 25.3 ppg for the season.
Next Up - St. James Tournament
Bulldogs (13-2) take on Cuba (2-12) in opening round actions of the St. James Tournament on Monday January 19th at 6:30pm.
First Round Tourney Match-Ups - Monday the 19th
#1 Blair Oaks - Bye
Second Round Tourney Match-Ups - Thursday the 22nd
Final Tourney Match-Ups - Saturday the 24th
Consolation at 1:30pm
3rd Place at 4:30pm
Championship at 7:30pm
STATS Rolla 67, Camdenton 34
The individual scoring (FG-FT-TP):
Rolla (13-2): Thomas 3-5-12, Richter 1-3-5, Forbis 1-0-2, Thorp-Lancaster 1-0-3, Gideon 3-1-9, Scheck 1-0-2, Ledbetter 3-0-6, Brown 5-8-19, Stallworth 1-0-2, Smith 1-1-2, Robinson 2-0-5
Camdenton (2-8): Rapp 1-0-3, Ai. Poage 2-0-6, Al. Poage 7-2-16, Parker 3-3-9
The score by periods:
TEAM Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 F
Rolla 12 28 18 9 67
Camdenton 9 5 11 9 34
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