‘Dogs post area wins
Priceville’s Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs moved a step closer to earning home court advantage in Class 4A post season competition by posting wins over Haleyville at home Friday night.
The Bulldogs grabbed a13-4 first quarter lead and never trailed; however, they allowed the visiting Lions to pull to within four points of tying the game with 1:47 left in the third quarter. The Bulldogs dominated their opponent in the fourth quarter and went on to win 57-40. The win put them up 2-0 in area contests.
The Lady Bulldogs out-scored the visiting Lady Lions 19 to 9 in the final period to win 47-38. They trailed 7-13 after one quarter and 18-27 at halftime.
Priceville’s JV boys won their game 44-42 after trailing by one point at the end of the third quarter.
Marc McClendon paced the varsity boys in scoring with 22 points while Luke Mason followed with 20 points.
“I thought we played well in spots,” said Priceville boys’ head coach Darrell Haynes. “We played hard and matched them physically, and our rebounding was solid. That was the difference in the game.”
Priceville’s Lady Bulldogs posted their first lead at 40-38 with 1:54 left in the game and converted several free throws in the final minute to close out the contest.
“At halftime I told them to settle down and go play their game,’ said Lady Bulldogs’ head coach Terrie Nelson. “We’ve lost two starters to knee injuries and had some young players on the court. I was proud of the way they stepped up and contributed, They showed a lot of maturity.
Jada Beverly’s accuracy from the perimeter was a key factor in the win. She led her team in scoring with 19 points. Emily Cunningham had nine points and McKenzie Parker had seven.
Kyle Haynes paced the Priceville JV team in scoring with 15 points. Ben Patterson followed with 10.