Rylan Slade
December 6, 2023
On December 4, the Bulldogs (2-3) faced off against the Eagles of Maranatha Christian (4-4) in their home opener. The matchup turned out to be a high-scoring affair that came down to the very last quarter. The game started and Maranatha Christian came out hot, establishing themselves as a serious threat from behind the arc. However, this did not deter Ramona. Through crafty scoring and scrappy defense, the Bulldogs were able to keep it within 6 as the score was 13-19 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter proved to be very similar to the first. Maranatha Christian continued to rain down shots from behind the 3-point line and the Bulldogs continued to weather the storm by getting buckets from all three levels. The second quarter ended with the Bulldogs down 36-37 going into halftime.
Coming out of the halftime break Maranatha seemed to find a second wind and slowly began to pull away as they were constantly making shots from range. But midway through the quarter, there was a shift in Ramona’s play. The Bulldogs were able to regain their composure and get back to what was getting them baskets in the earlier stages of the game. The quarter ended with #22 Chase Newman sinking a deep fade-away three-pointer at the buzzer to bring the game within one (with a score of 55-53) and swing the momentum back to the Bulldogs.
Ramona carried this momentum throughout the remainder of the game. In the fourth, the Bulldogs came through with clutch defense as they forced turnovers, contested shots, and held the Eagles to a 9-point quarter. Ramona was able to do what they had to do offensively by putting up 14 in the fourth to secure the 67-64 comeback win over the Maranatha Eagles and improve their record to 3-3 on the season. The Bulldogs travel to Escondido to play the 4-3 White Tigers of Escondido Charter in a non-league game on December 12. The White Tigers come into the matchup with a record of 4-3.
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