Bulldogs Wrap-Up the Regular Season with 71-36 Win at Union

RoMoAthletics
Feb 25
5 min read

Bulldogs close out regular season with a win at Union.

February 25th, 2026

With the Bulldogs securing their 3rd consecutive 20-win season on Saturday against Orchard Farm, which is believed to be a first in program history, the Bulldogs turned their attention to the District seeding meeting held on Sunday. Knowing that if things played out well for the Bulldogs, they would be rewarded with one more home game in the opening round.

With the excitement of gaining the #1 seed in Class 6 District 2, the Bulldogs might have been distracted heading into the final game of the regular season. The first quarter lull against the scrappy Union Wildcats on Tuesday evening seemed to provide it. But the Bulldogs were able to refocus and cruise to a 71 -36 victory, finishing the regular season 21-5.

A Sluggish Start

Call it a bias from watching the Monday night contest between the Lady Bulldogs and Union, but the start by the Bulldogs did not meet expectations. The night before the Lady Bulldogs teams came out with intensity and defensive pressure to set the tone resulting in the JV being up 18-2 after the opening period and the Varsity leading 27-7.

Nobody had the Bulldogs finishing the first half with a 16-13 lead on their Bingo card. Except maybe for veteran Coach John VanLeer and the Union Wildcats.

Union came out with confidence bolstered by Sr Cannon Brown who connected on three deep 3 point shots in the opening period. Union went 2 for 3 from 2 point range in the quarter as well.

The Bulldogs also shot well in the opening quarter, hitting 62% from 2 and 40% from 3. It was the defensive intensity that was missing from their game. Union committed 6 turnovers in the period but the Bulldogs only had one steal and only a single bucket in transition. The slower pace favored the Union Wildcats.

Leading by only one,14-13, in the closing seconds of the 1st period and with the Union student section getting loud, 6’0” Jr guard James Scheck found the ball in his hands in the corner with only a few seconds left as he drove to the basket and finished a tough, contested shot with a lot of contact as time expired. The Bulldog coaching staff, bench and fans were on their feet and received the wake-up call.

Answering the Call

With Union scoring on their opening possession of the 2nd quarter, the Bulldogs defense responded holding them scoreless as they went on an 18-0 run in the 2nd quarter holding them to two points.

Just a couple of minutes into the 2nd quarter, 6’8” Sr forward Paxton Ledbetter, who had a big first quarter with 7 points, picked up his second foul and was forced to the Bulldog bench. It was time for 2x All-State guard, senior Ethan Brown to heat up as went for 12 points in the quarter going 5 for 6 from the field including 2 from beyond the arc.

The Bulldogs forced 7 turnovers in the quarter and were able to convert them into 9 points. Coupled with the turnovers, Union only hit one of eight shot attempts in the 2nd period resulting in a 0.14 point per possession.

The game was decided in the 2nd quarter as the Bulldogs dashed any hopes that Union may have had of pulling off an upset as they outscored the Wildcats 18-2 to take a 34 to 15 lead into intermission.

Wrapping up the Victory

The Bulldogs started out the 3rd quarter gouging the Wildcats in the paint which forced them to a zone defense. At that point with a 20+ point lead, the Bulldogs were content to shoot open 3 pointers, but failed to hit and went 0-8 in the quarter. However, the long shots against a zone enabled the Bulldogs to rebound 6 of those misses, gaining additional opportunities and limiting the Wildcat possessions.

It was a big 4th quarter for the Bulldogs to put the game out of reach and get the turbo clock running and move to 21-5 to close out the regular season with a 71-36 win.

The Wrap Up

While shooting above their season average from 3 at almost 35% on the night, the Bulldogs again allowed a team to get hot from beyond the arc at 50%. In the second half, Union went 4 for 6 from 3 and while it is understandable due to the big lead, it’s also a reminder that relaxing on defense does have consequences..This has been a challenge for the Bulldogs in their losses and will be a focus as they prepare to make their playoff run.

The Bulldogs shot a blistering 73.3% from 2 on the evening dominating the inside game with 36 points in the paint. The ball-movement was back for the Bulldogs, handing out 26+ assists on the evening, finding the open man and moving it up the court.

Despite the inside dominance, the Bulldogs only attempted 7 free throws and uncharacteristically knocked down only 3.

Defense forced 24 turnovers and pulled in 12 steals leading to 32 points for the Bulldogs. Once again, creating pace with points in transition help push the Bulldog offense.

It was a good shooting night for 6’4” Sr guard Cooper Gideon as he scored 13 points and hit 2 from 3 point land. The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Brown, who finished with a game high 22 points as he closes in on the exclusive 2500 point mark for his career. Brown also handed out 7 assists as did 6’2” Sr guard Jenson Thomas.

In all, 13 Bulldog players got into the varsity game and contributed. Freshman guard Dante Robinson got his first varsity points as he scored 6 on the evening.

Next Up

Northwest - Cedar Hill (5-11) in the opening round of Class 6 District 2

Rolla will host this game at 7:30pm on Tuesday March 3rd
First ever match-up between the two schools
Rolla is averaging 69.2 PPG vs Union at 51.6 PPG
Rolla’s defense is allowing 54.3 PA while Union is at 60.1 PA

Common Opponents: Rolla Northwest (Cedar Hill)

Fox Win (93 - 52) Loss (33-65)

Pacific Win (63 - 33) Loss (46 - 55)

Waynesville Win (74 - 57) Loss (45 - 49)

Boys Class 6 District 2 Bracket

STATS Rolla 71, Union 36

The individual scoring (FG-FT-TP):

Rolla (21-5): Thomas 2-2-7, Richter 1-0-3, Henderson 1-0-3, Gideon 5-1-13, D. Robinson 3-0-6. Scheck 2-0-4, Ledbetter 3-0-7, Brown 10-0-22, N. Robinson 3-0-6

Union (16-9): Brown 4-0-12, Rapert 2-0-5, Siess 3-1-7, Golus 2-0-6, Servais 3-0-6

The score by periods:

TEAM Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 F

Rolla 16 18 13 24 71

Union 13 2 11 10 36

Bulldogs JV Finish Their Season 11-10 with Win Over Union

The JV Bulldogs came out with another big win to push them over the .500 mark on the season. Jumping out to a 17-6 lead in the opening quarter, the Bulldogs were paced by 6’0” Jr guard James Scheck with 7 points and 5’9” So guard Cruz Wilkins with 6 points.

The Bulldogs limited Union JV to only 3 second half points on their way to a convincing 55-16 victory. For the game, Scheck led the JV Bulldogs in scoring with 15 points in 3 quarters of play. Also in double figures was 5’9” Fr guard Dante Robinson who chipped in 13 points.

STATS Rolla 55 , Union JV 16

The individual scoring (FG-FT-TP):

Rolla JV (11-10): Wilkins 3-0-6, Hirtz 1-0-2, Thorpe-Lancaster 1-0-2, Litz 2-1-5, D. Robinson 6-0-13, Scheck 7-1-15, Jones 1-0-2, Thomas 2-0-6, Heinker 1-0-2, Jenkins 0-2-2

Union JV:Soto 1-0-2, Decker 1-0-2, Curnutte 2-0-5, Homeyer 1-0-2, Pelikan 1-0-2, Stahlman 0-1-1, McPherson 1-0-2