Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Gurdon Go-Devils Fall To Waldo In Regionals

Gurdon's senior boys opened play in the 7AA regional tournament with a convincing 69-51 win over Mineral Springs.

However, the Devils met Waldo's Bulldogs in the semifinals and fell 70-45.

Gurdon got off to a slow start against the Hornets in the first round, as neither team was able to score much in the first four minutes of the contest.

The Devils led 7-4 with 3:50 remaining, then found their stroke and left the Hornets flattened on the hardwood.

Rufus Hatley put on his best performance of the season as he scored 15 in the game, but stepped up whenever Gurdon needed a little extra spark.

The Devils did what they wanted in the last three minutes of the first, and outscored the Hornets 8-0, to lead 15-4 heading into the second.

From there, Gurdon pushed its lead to 20-4, running almost at will.

Mineral Springs appeared to be flatfooted as Hornet players were late getting into position and lethargic when shooting.

Gurdon players, though, looked hungry and wanted to end the game as soon as possible.

Gurdon held a 29-9 lead with 3:13 left in the half, and was outscored 11-4 for the rest of the period, as the Devils couldn't put the Hornets away.

The Devils stole the ball to open the third quarter, but couldn't convert. The first points were scored by Mineral Springs.

This didn't set well with Gurdon, as the Devils extended their lead to 37-22 with 6:41 showing in the third.

The Devils picked up the pace, but were methodical, passing the bal around, looking for the open man and best shot.

There was less scoring in the third, with Gurdon holding onto a comfortable lead at 46-32 heading into the fourth.

Again, the Devils scored almost at will early, while the Hornets were disorganized offensively, never getting into the flow of the game.

The Hornets subbed five at a time, looking for any combination that might work against Gurdon. None did.

As the game wound down, play got sloppy with the Hornets fouling to stop the clock.

Dorsey Kelly led the Devils with 18 points on the night. Walter Hart stepped up with 11.

Gurdon connected on eight of 12 free throws.

Michael Olden led the Hornets with 18, as the only player in double-figures.

The Hornets hit nine of 12 from the line.

This win earned Gurdon a date with Waldo in the semifinals Friday night. Earlier, Stephens had dumped Genoa Central to reach the finals.

For eight minutes the Devils were able to keep up with Waldo, only to see the Bulldogs run away with a 70-45 win.

The Devils scored the first four points of the game, but got in early foul trouble with four fouls in less than four minutes.

This allowed Waldo to get back in the game and take control of the pace  which was fast.

The Dogs like to run, and run they did for the remainder of the contest.

Waldo pulled out to an 11-6 lead in the first, only to see Gurdon fight back and cut it to 14-12 with 55 seconds left in the first.

Period one ended with Waldo leading 16-13.

Frosty shooting hurt Gurdon in the second as the Devils went cold from the field.

Almost from the start of the quarter, the Dogs were in the bonus, taking free throws for every Gurdon foul.

Defensively, the Dogs went in and out of a full-court press to keep the Devils off-balance.

Both teams turned the ball over several times in the quarter, with Gurdon doing everything it could to hang tough with the Dogs.

Halftime arrived with the score 31-21 Waldo.

The Dogs got the second half underway with an 11-2 run, and were up 44-25 with 3:51 left in the third.

Waldo came out running and didn't stop till the game was over.

Gurdon's inability to score proved to be more than the Devils could overcome as Waldo led 56-34 at the end of three.

The final eight minutes began with Waldo outscoring Gurdon 8-0 to put the game on ice.

Both teams began emptying their benches, getting everyone into the game and playoff experience.