In a Battle of Ranked Teams, the Rolla Bulldogs Outlast the Orchard Farm Eagles. 3 Game Sweep on the Night.

Bulldogs hit win #20 on the season with a 62-57 victory over Orchard Farm.

February 22nd, 2026

It was a match-up of two 19 win state ranked teams on Saturday evening at the Rolla Fieldhouse, with the Rolla Bulldogs #9 in Class 6 and Orchard Farm Eagles #6 in Class 4. In a game that started with big runs by both teams, it was the Rolla Bulldogs who were able to close it out and hit that 20 win mark with a 62-57 victory.

Bulldogs Off to Another Fast Start

The Rolla Bulldogs enjoyed another hot start to a game as they hit 4 from beyond the arc with 6’7” Sr forward Paxton Ledbetter knocking down 2 of the 4. On his way to 8 first quarter points. The ball movement was very good in the opening quarter for the Bulldogs as they scored their 18 points on 11 assists.

The Orchard Farm eagles did not have the success from deep as the Bulldog man-to-man defense forced them to shoot contested three’s with none finding their mark. The defensive pressure also forced 5 turnovers in the opening period as Orchard farm did not record an assist on their 8 points. 

Same Shots Different Results

The two teams exchanged buckets to start the second quarter giving the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the game at 21 to 10, but that lead quickly vanished as the Eagles would go on a 20-3 run in the second period to remind the Bulldogs that their 19-3 record and state ranking was legit.

Bulldogs shot 14% in the 2nd quarter. 1 of 9 from 2 and 1 of 5 from 3. They go 2 for 2 from the line.  We only pulled in 4 rebounds in Q2. No assists and 2 turnovers. No steals and only 1 deflection which means that the defensive intensity that resulted in 14 deflections throughout the game, was not at the desired level in that pivotal quarter.

The Bulldogs, who play with a short bench, switched to a zone defense in the second quarter in an effort to save some legs and Orchard Farm was able to exploit it. Getting valuable paint touches by finding the seams in the zone, their mid-range game was on points as they scored 14 points in the paint going 7 of 9 from 2.

The paint touches forced the defense to pinch in which opened up the outside game for the Eagles going 3 of 4 from deep. Orchard Farm shot 77% from the field for the quarter. The patience of the Eagles resulted in the extra pass as they handed out 7 of their 11 assists for the game during that run. 

With the Eagles only missing 3 shots, there were not a lot of defensive rebounds to have but the Bulldogs did get 2 of the 3. But the one they didn’t get resulted in a 3 pointer that gave the Eagles their biggest lead of the game at 33-23.

In a crazy 2nd quarter that had both teams enjoying double digit leads, it was the Eagles who owned the quarter outscoring Rolla 25 to 7. Orchard Farm took a 33 to 25 lead into halftime with all of the momentum.

The Long Road Back

The Bulldogs battled back throughout the 3rd quarter cutting the lead to 1 with 30 seconds left in the 3rd quarter on two Jenson Thomas free throws.

The 4th quarter was a back and forth affair with the Bulldogs finally evening it at 46 with 6:15 left in the game on two more Thomas free throws. The 6’2” Sr guard would go 6 for 6 from the line on the evening. The Bulldogs finally take their first lead since the opening minutes of the second quarter when 6’4” Sr guard, Ethan Brown was able to to get a steal when he deflected the ball away and a diving Landen Richter punched the ball ahead where Brown was able to secure it, drive to the basket and score on a tough left handed layup. Bulldogs up 50-49 with 4:51 left. 

The two teams would tie it up 3 more times in the final minutes of the game. Trailing 55-57 with 3:20 left in the game, the Bulldogs worked the ball for an open 3 attempt to put the Bulldogs up. The shot was off the mark, but Bulldog big man, Ledbetter was there for the put back to tie the game at 57 which would prove to be the last tie of the game. 

The Bulldogs defense stepped up on the next possession and got a much needed stop

With 2:30 min left in the game. Coach Miller called for the Bulldogs to pull it out and prepare to start killing the clock, as the look for open lanes to the basket.  The Eagles refused to come out and guard and were content to let time come off the clock.

With 1:43 left on the clock, the ball went into Brown’s hands where he was able to attack the same, force a defender to help but they were too late and Brown was able to score with contact, securing the and-one play to put the Bulldogs up 60-57.

In a nerve racking final minute and half, the Eagles never-say-die attitude was on display as they fought for 2 offensive rebounds, and turned Rolla over when they did get the defensive rebound. But the Bulldogs defense held and were able to finish off the game at the free throw line, moving to 20-5 on the season with a 62-57 victory. 

The Wrap Up

Breaking down the stats verified that it was an evenly matched game as those in attendance could attest. Each team made 7 3-pointers on the night and shot at a similar percentage from the field. 

Rolla only had 7 turnovers to 11 by Orchard Farm but Orchard Farm was able to convert more of the turnovers to points than Rolla. The Bulldogs lost the battle of points in the paint, rebounding, and transition points, but did win the battle at the line going 13 for 15 for 86.7% versus 6 of 8 for the Eagles which proved to be the difference in the game. 

Brown led the Bulldogs in scoring with 25 points. Ledbetter recorded another double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Thomas handed out 6 assists on the evening. 6’4” Sr guard Cooper Gideon had clutch back-to-back possessions during the 3rd quarter run connecting on his only 3pt attempt of the night and following that with a pull-up jumper to cut the Eagle lead to 4.

The victory gave Coach Miller and the Bulldogs their 3rd 20 win season in a row and 7th in the last 12 seasons. It is the first time in recent memory that the Bulldogs have had 3 consecutive 20-win seasons.

Next Up

Final game of the regular season will be on the road, Tuesday February 24th against the Union Wildcats (16-8)

• Last season was a 75-43 win

• Rolla is averaging 69.1 PPG vs Union at 51.8 PPG

• Rolla’s defense is allowing 55.1 PA while Union is at 52.5 PA

Common Opponents: Rolla Union

Cuba Win (67 - 27) Win (48 - 30)

Pacific Win (63 - 33) Win (50 - 38)

St. Francis Borgia Win (60 - 42) Loss (51 - 67)

St. James Win (59 - 47) Win (58 - 52)

Boys Class 6 District 2 Standings 

Seeding meeting is scheduled for Sunday Feb. 22nd..

TEAM W L Win %

Rolla 20 5 80.00%

Eureka 16 7 69.57%

Marquette 16 8 66.67%

Lafayette (Wildwood) 13 9 59.09%

Parkway South 13 11 54.17%

Waynesville 10 13 43.48%

Parkway West 10 14 41.67%

Northwest (Cedar Hill) 5 11 31.25%

STATS Rolla 62, Orchard Farm 57

The individual scoring (FG-FT-TP):

Rolla (20-5): Thomas 2-6-11, Gideon 3-0-7, Richter 1-1-3, Ledbetter 6-0-14, Brown 9-4-25, Smith 0-2-2

Orchard Farm (19-4): J. Wolf 1-0-3, Leu  3-0-6, Sinclair 10-3-26, Bohning 0-1-1, W. Wolf 6-2-16, Edwards 2-0-5

The score by periods:

TEAM Q1   Q2   Q3   Q4   F

Rolla   18 7 15 22 62

Orchard Farm 8 25 10 14 57

Bulldogs JV Get Back to .500 with Win over Orchard Farm

It was a close contest throughout the game between the two teams. Late in the 4th quarter with the Bulldogs clinging to a one point lead, 5’9” Dante Robinson was able to get an offensive rebound in traffic and kicked it out to 6’0” Jr guard James Scheck. Scheck calmly gave a shot fake to the defender who was closing out and side stepped him for a step by 3 pointer. 

As the Bulldogs were killing clock to close out the game, 5’9” So guard Logan Litz gave a show-and-go, freezing the defender and drawing contact on his way for the old-fashioned 3-point play. A defensive stop and another 3 ball from Scheck ensured the Bulldog victory 44 to 37.

STATS Rolla JV 44, Orchard Farm JV 37

The individual scoring (FG-FT-TP):

Rolla JV (10-11): Wilkins 3-1-7, Thorpe-Lancaster 1-2-5, Henderson 3-0-6, Litz 4-3-11, Scheck 3-2-11, Jones 2-0-4

Orchard Farm JV: Curry 4-0-8, Smith 1-0-2, Kleeshulte 4-1-9, Sinclair 4-5-14, Spaeth 1-0-2, Elliot 1-0-2

The score by periods:

TEAM Q1   Q2   Q3   Q4   F

Rolla JV 5 15 7 17 44

Orchard Farm JV 7 6 12 12 37

Bulldog Freshmen Again Kick-Off the 3 Game Sweep

Freshmen Mason Heincker getting 2 of his game high 21 points.

The game was tight throughout the first quarter as neither team could separate from each other. It was a different story in the 2nd period.

The Bulldogs exploded for 25 points in the quarter behind 9 points each from guard Mason Heincker and forward Ty Jenkins. The Bulldogs would take a commanding 39 to 22 lead into halftime and extend the lead throughout the 3rd quarter, outscoring the Eagles 18-9.

The freshman crushed to a dominant 71 -50 victory. There were 3 players in double figures led by Heincker with 21, Jenkins with 19 and Chase Williams with 12. In all 8 players scored for the Bulldogs.

STATS Rolla Freshmen 33, Orchard Farm Freshmen 29

The individual scoring (FG-FT-TP):

Rolla 9th: Williams 5-1-12, Wilkins 1-0-3, Heincker 8-5-21, Noellsch 1-0-3, Girando 3-1-7, Jenkins 8-1-19, Gurley 1-0-3, Terrell 1-1-3

Orchard Farm 9th: Ennis 1-0-2, Carroll 4-0-10, Peters 1-0-2, Chartrand 7-1-15

The score by periods:

TEAM Q1   Q2   Q3   Q4   F

Rolla 9th 14 25 18 14 71

Orchard Farm 9 12 10 9 19 50