Michael Collins put up a three pointer during the first half against Metcalfe County Friday night. The Dawgs won the game, 53-30.

Chad Smith took a shot in the first half Friday night against Metcalfe County. The Bulldogs won the game after getting off to a slow first half start, 53-30. Smith finished the game with 10 points. The Bulldogs are on a three game winning streak to bring its record to 3-3 on the year.

After a slow start to the 2015-16 basketball season that resulted in three straight losses in the first week, the Clinton County Bulldogs turned things around in week two with three straight wins to even the overall record at 3-3.

Those back to back to back wins last week got started with a tough win at Monroe County on Tuesday night, 49-47 in a game that saw the Bulldogs hold tough down the stretch.

Clinton County followed that win with an easier 16th District win on the road against Metcalfe County, 53-30 on Friday night, followed on Saturday with an impressive down to the wire victory at home against the Gators of Bowling Green’s Greenwood High School, 58-56.

Clinton County 58

Greenwood 56

The Bulldogs won it’s third game of the season Saturday afternoon as Greenwood came to The Castle.

Both teams started out at a fast pace, but Clinton County jumped on top early with a 7-0 run in the first two minutes of the game with baskets by Colin Langford, a three pointer by Brett Gibson and a field goal by Chad Smith.

Greenwood answered with a three pointer and a field goal to cut the lead to two points at the 4:15 mark, 7-5.

Both teams were pushing the ball up the floor trying to get points off transition.

Langford hit a basket at the 3:04 mark, followed by a bucket from Jamison Summers at the 2:32 mark, 11-5.

Greenwood scored with a little more than two minutes remaining, but Clinton County scored seven in the final two minutes for an 18-7 first quarter lead.

The second quarter saw much of the same from both teams, however, Greenwood picked up its defense and kept Clinton County from running away with the game.

The Dawgs opened up the quarter with six points for a 24-7 lead, but Greenwood started scoring on its end of the floor and cut what was a 17 point lead down to 10 points by the end of the period.

Greenwood put together a 14-4 run to get to within six at the half, 28-21.

Both teams matched each other in the third quarter, each scoring 16 points to finish the period 44-37.

With a seven point lead, Head Coach Todd Messer tried to stall the ball during the early part of the fourth quarter.

Greenwood went to the foul line twice, connecting on three of the four shots to get to within four points, 44-40.

Greenwood cut the lead to two points, 47-45, after Gibson made two from the foul line and Summers drove the lane for a bucket with 4:30 on the clock.

With only up two points, Clinton County put together a 7-0 run with 2:40 on the clock to lead by nine points, 54-45.

Greenwood then started chipping away, cutting the lead to four points with 1:56 remaining.

Summers extended the lead to six after hitting two shots from the foul line, 56-50.

During the final minutes, Greenwood managed to tie the game at 56.

With a chance to win the game as the final seconds ticked away, Langford was fouled with five seconds remaining, sending him to the foul line for two shots.

Langford hit both shots to put Clinton County up two. Greenwood had to come the full length of the floor for its final shot and after two missed attempts to tie the game, the horn sounded giving Clinton County the two point win, 58-56.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Summers 20

Gibson 15

Langford 12

Smith 7

M. Collins 3

Choate 1

Clinton County 53

Metcalfe County 30

The Bulldogs won its second game of the season Friday night after a very slow start on the hardwood against Metcalfe County.

Both teams struggled from the floor as the first quarter ended with a 6-3 lead for the Bulldogs.

The second quarter wasn’t much better for either team, however, Clinton County did manage to score seven points after Metcalfe County cut the lead to one in the opening 30 seconds of the second period.

At the 5:04 mark, Clinton County led 13-6, but the rest of the quarter went slow for both teams and the Dawgs finished the half with a small four point lead, 22-18.

During the second half, a new team came out on the floor for Clinton County and started to pull away from the Hornets.

Metcalfe County continued to shoot cold from the floor, not hitting a field goal until the 5:44 mark in the fourth quarter.

Metcalfe County did add four points to the board during the third quarter, all coming from the foul line, as Clinton County posted 19 point for a 41-22 lead after three quarters.

During the final quarter, Clinton County posted 12 points during the eight minute stretch while Metcalfe posted eight. The third quarter’s 19-4 run by the Dawgs proved to be enough to secure the win, 53-30.

Individual scoring for Clintoin County was:

Summers 12

Smith 10

Langford 9

Gibson 8

J. Collins 4

M. Collins 3

Harlan 2

York 2

Choate 2

Hadley 1

Clinton County 49

Monroe 47

Playing in the confines of the Falcon gymnasium in Tompkinsville has never been an easy venue for Clinton County, and last Tuesday night’s outing against Monroe County was no different as the Bulldogs had to hold off an impressive comeback effort to escape with the first win of this young season, 49-47.

Monday night’s contest was a see-saw battle that saw both teams control the lead at various times throughout the battle and eventually came down to a race to the finish line.

The Bulldogs broke away early from the Falcons after a 3-3 tied score in the early minutes of the contest and went on a scoring spree that was orchestrated by Jamison Summers, Chad Smith, Colby Langford and Brett Gibson and resulted in Clinton County looking as if it would completely dominate the contest with a first quarter 16-3 lead.

An early lead against any Falcon team generally means very little, and that was exactly the case on Tuesday night as Monroe County mounted a scoring run of it’s own, in the final minutes of first quarter action as well as early in the second quarter of play on a three point basket that narrowed the Bulldog lead to three points, 16-13.

The Bulldogs came to the front again as the second quarter progressed, with Summers, Smith and Kyle Choate putting together a run that sent Clinton County back out in front with a nine point lead, 24-15, only to have that margin cut to just six points at halftime, 26-20.

Smith gave Clinton County a double digit lead with two quick baskets to get the second half underway and stretch the advantage to 30-20.

Still, Monroe County was far from through in its effort to earn a home-court win, and on three separate occasions during the second half, the score was tied, 37-37 and again 40-40, and a final time at 42-42, which followed a brief control of the lead by the Falcons, 42-40.

As the game moved into the final minutes of action, Clinton County slipped out to a narrow lead on a three point play by Langford, followed by a pair of big free throws by Gibson with just 42 seconds remaining to be played that put the Dawgs out in front 47-43.

After both teams had enjoyed successful trips to the line in the closing seconds, the final horn ended play after Monroe County missed a final opportunity to go ahead, with the Bulldogs claiming the narrow but satisfying victory, 49-47.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Summers 12

Langford 11

Gibson 12

Smith 10

Choate 4