GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - The Gridley boys basketball team handed the Orland Trojans their first Butte View League loss of the year in a thrilling 45-43 victory on Tuesday, February 7.

Orland lost their final BVL game of the season last Friday night 56 - 41 at Corning, with the two BVL losses, The Trojans and Gridley tied for the best BVL record in hitch made the co-champions.

The Bulldogs trailed 15-12 after the first quarter, but Orland was only successful on scoring behind the three-point line in the first.

The Trojans didn’t make another three-point basket until the later part of the third quarter.

Gridley (13-12, 6-2 BVL) head coach Nathan Link told the Herald he believed the Bulldogs were a good matchup with Orland because of the multiple shooters they have on the roster.

“We’re capable of having five shooters on the floor at all times,” Link said.

Other than great shooters, the real story of the game was the defensive approach Gridley maintained all game long.

The Bulldogs were lengthier on the floor, but they also got their hands inside the passing lanes of the Trojans.

Gridley held a controlled defensive prescience to where they only committed five fouls throughout the entire game against a team that Link mentioned to the Herald that had a good full-court team game.

The Bulldogs took a 26-21 lead into the half and as the Gridley stands were full of fans, the feeling of the potential upset over the number one ranked team in the MaxPreps at the time of the game started brewing.

Bulldogs junior forward Aaron Kullar led the way with 11 points in the first half.

Kullar ended the game with a team-high in points with 15 and rebounds (11).

Gridley was also efficient from shooting behind the arc as they shot 50 % for the entire game. The timeliness of their  seven three-point made shots came in crucial moments.

Bulldogs senior guard Benson Tolman expressed to the Herald the way Gridley is consistently capable of penetrating through the lanes and able to kick (pass) the ball out to their open shooters on the outside.

The Bulldogs stretched their lead to nine over Orland but the Trojans closed the gap late in the third quarter where Gridley held onto a 36-32 lead to enter the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs were in the single bonus situation in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter and had the opportunity to get at least one free throw every time the Trojans committed a foul for the remainder of the game.

Orland kept the game within striking distance as the Gridley lead never reached over six points in the final quarter. The Bulldogs defense came up big twice in the final 10 seconds of the game.

Tolman pulled down a defensive rebound with a little over six seconds to go in the game that could have sealed the game, but he was quickly called for a travel with 4.8 seconds to go and gave the Trojans one more chance to make a game tying or winning shot.

The Gridley defense prevailed as Orland shot a contested three-pointer from the right corner and the ball jumped off the top of the rim to give the Bulldogs the big win.

“Everyone chipped in and you’re going to want everyone chip in on a good team like Orland,” Kullar exclaimed to the Herald.

The Gridley gym erupted in excitement and the players jumped in celebration on the floor. The upset win made a big statement for the Northern Section CIF playoffs as it dropped the Trojans down a couple spots in the seeding.

The Bulldogs hosted the Pierce Bears in the first round of the 2023 NSCIF playoffs on Tuesday, the winner of that matchup traveled to play Orland on Thursday.

Tolman and Kullar both added on the playoff picture, their goals as leaders of the team was to keep everyone focused and keep pushing one another to be better.