The Wayne Bulldogs are sitting at 3-1 with their only loss a 67-57 loss at Elmore City. Last Friday they picked up a 65-44 win over Empire.

“The win over Empire was our best defensive performance in a long time. We jumped out big in the first quarter and played with a lot of energy,” head coach Jackson Embry said.

The Empire win came after the Elmore loss and Embry believes his team realized that they had to be detail-oriented and follow their gameplan.

“Coming off that loss, the guys realized we can’t just go out and play and not pay attention to our gameplan.”

The Wayne defense was stout and creating opportunities for the offense.

According to Embry, Empire had 31 turnovers in the game, including 11 in the first quarter.

“We got layups and free throws off of those turnovers. We were creating lots of opportunities.”

Three Bulldogs were in double figures in the win, led by Ty Kemp’s 20. Ben Fisher and Jaxon Dill had 13 apiece.

“Ty and Jaxon were able to stay out of foul trouble and that helped to keep up our guard play. Ben was attacking the rim. He gets a lot of steals and tips.”

Last Tuesday, the Bulldogs fell to the Badgers 67-57.

“Playing at Elmore is always big for us. It’s loud and a rivalry game,” Embry said.

“Elmore is well-coached and they have three talented seniors that can score.”

Foul trouble bit the Bulldogs as it forced Kemp and Dill to sit for significant minutes.

“With Ty and Jaxon on the bench, it was a good chance for our guards to have to play and defend their taller guys. We were in a bind without our size, but the guys still played hard and gave us a chance to win,” Embry said.

Four Bulldogs were in double figures for Wayne, led by Dill and Kemp with 14. Cameron David added 12 while Fisher had 11. Sloan Jackson finished the game with six points.

Wayne was scheduled to host Little Axe on Tuesday and they will be in Binger starting Thursday for a tournament. They open against Mountain View-Gotebo at 8:20 Thursday night.

Girls

The Lady Bulldogs dropped both games last week, a 56-38 loss at Elmore City and a 43-30 loss against Empire.

“We’re getting good looks but missing bumps. Our defense keeps us in games and once we start hitting shots -- it’ll come -- we’ll be tough,” head coach Jackson Embry said.

In the loss to Elmore, Audra Watts and Addison Keeler got in foul trouble which put the Lady Bulldogs in a bind.

However, freshman Maddi Moreno and sophomore Kimber Reaves had good minutes off the bench to bring a spark, according to Embry.

Taelyn Ringwald led the team with 12 points. Madilyn Sharp added six points while Reaves and Coral Vazuez had five apiece.

Last Tuesday, Wayne fell to Elmore City in what was a game of two halves.

“We did well in the first half, tied up 23-23. And, we only had two turnovers,” Embry said.

According to the coach, the second half was another story.

“We did a poor job of executing offensively and had 28 second-half turnovers.”

With foul trouble for Watts and Keeler, Elmore was able to turn up the defense and force bad decisions.

Wayne was outscored 33-15 in the second half.

Alyssa Hobson and Ringwald finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

The Lady Bulldogs were hosting Little Axe on Tuesday and starting today (Thursday) they are in Binger. Wayne plays Union City in the first round of the tournament at 4:20 p.m.