The Clinton County Bulldogs have had a tough first week despite picking up its first win of the season in its first outing of the year against Casey County Tuesday night.

Clinton County dropped two games in a row, both teams coming off good seasons last year.

The Dawgs lost against Franklin-Simpson on Friday night, 68-48 and to Louisville Male on Saturday afternoon, 63-43.

Clinton County 44

Male 63

The Dawgs picked up its second loss of the season, moving its record to 1-2 on the year, with the 20 point loss to Male Saturday, 63-43.

If didn’t take long for the Bulldogs to see what basketball was like in the 7th Region on Saturday. Louisville Male contends with some of the best basketball in the state year in and year out with several teams from the Louisville area as their opponents in the post season.

The Dawgs fell early in the game as Male jumped out to a quick 16-3 lead in the first quarter.

Scoring for Clinton County was minimal in the first part of the game as Male finished the quarter with a 19-7 advantage.

During the second quarter, Male continued to dominate the scoreboard, putting together a 9-2 run for a 28-11 lead over the Dawgs.

A basket by Brett Gibson stopped the bleeding for the moment, but a three pointer by Male put the lead at 18 points for the Louisville team, 31-13.

The second quarter finished with the Dawgs scoring nine points to Male’s 10 for a 43-22 halftime score.

During the third quarter, Clinton County started to come alive and put points on the board, but the early damage in the first half seemed to be too much for the Bulldogs to gain control of the game.

After the third period, Clinton County was behind 51-34.

Male’s domination in the first half was enough to coast through the fourth quarter as the Louisville team added 11 points to the board while Clinton County put up 10, for a 63-44 final.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Gibson 13

Harlan 11

Summers 10

Langford 10

Clinton County 48

Franklin-Simpson 68

Clinton County traveled to Frankin-Simpson Friday night to take on the Wildcats.

The Bulldogs drew first blood with a basket to open the game, followed by a three pointer by Gibson, 5-0. Franklin-Simpson quickly came back and score back-to-back-to-back baskets for a 6-5 lead over the Dawgs.

The Wildcats extended its lead to two points on a free throw made, 7-5, but Harlan made two from the line to tie the score at seven. Franklin-Simpson hit two more from the free throw line for a two point advantage, 9-7. Franklin-Simpson finished the quarter hitting two three pointers while Clinton County only put two points on the board for a 15-9 score at the end of the first.

Colin Langford cut the lead to three points early in the second quarter. Shots weren’t falling much for either team in the second period as the Dawgs outscored Franklin-Simpson 11-10, and finish the half only down five, 25-20.

Early in the third quarter, Clinton County cut the lead to one point, 29-28, but an 11-3 run by Franklin-Simpson pushed the lead to nine points, 40-31.

By the end of the period, Head Coach Todd Messer collected his first technical foul of the year and saw Clinton County trailing by 22 points, 55-33.

As the fourth quarter got underway, Clinton County’s deficit was too much and Franklin-Simpson came out with the 63-44 win.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Harlan 21

Langford 13

Summers 10

Gibson 3

Stockton 1

Clinton County 70

Casey County 56

The Bulldogs came out of the gate Tuesday for the season opener and gave fans a delightful display of round ball action.

The Dawgs jumped out to a 9-2 lead early in the game and despite Casey County coming back and grinding it out in the half court, Clinton County picked up the first win of the season on its home floor, 70-56.

After the 9-2 opening run, Casey County climbed out of the hole and got to within one point of the Dawgs, 9-8, at the 4:15 mark.

A 5-3 run saw the Dawgs grab a 16-11 lead toward the end of the period and Casey County added another three pointer to close the game 16-14 after one.

The second quarter was back and forth until the halfway point. Clinton County started to pull away, grabbing a seven point lead on a drive by Jamison Summers, 29-21.

Harlan hit two from the foul line to give Clinton County its first double-digit lead, 31-21, with 2:11 remaining before halftime.

Clinton County finished the half with a 10 point lead, 39-29.

The third quarter saw much of the same from the Bulldogs as they continued to dominate the flow of the game. The Dawgs won the quarter by putting up 14 points to Casey County’s 13, for a 53-42 lead.

In the final period, Clinton County started to pull away even more adding 17 points to the board in the final period.

Casey County added 14 in the final period, but it wasn’t near enough to come off with the win as Clinton County’s first win came with a final score of 70-56.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Harlan 25

Summers 18

Gibson 14

Langford 7

Choate 2

Stockton 2

Guffey 2

Clinton County was back in action Tuesday night, too late for press deadline, against Monroe County at home and will host Metcalfe County on Friday night. Friday night’s game will follow the Lady Dawgs’ game against the Lady Hornets.

Jamison Summers drove the lane for a layup in the first half against Casey County last Tuesday night. He finished the game with 18 points.

Seth Stockton pulled up in the lane for a shot Tuesday night against Casey County in the season opener. Clinton County won, 70-56.