The Clinton County Bulldogs went 1-1 on the week with an impressive win Saturday against North Hardin and a not so impressive loss to Franklin-Simpson on Friday night.

Clinton County 54

North Hardin 44

The Clinton County Bulldogs traveled to Central Hardin to play in the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame Classic on Saturday.

The Dawgs started out the game with a 5-0 jump on two free throws by Caleb Guffey and a three pointer by Evan Dearborn.

The Trojans came back by hitting a free throw, field goal and three pointer for a one point lead, 6-5, with three minutes remaining in the quarter.

For the remainder of the period, both scores went back and forth as leads changed every 30 seconds or so. By the time the first quarter had come to a close, Clinton County managed to hold on to a two point lead, 14-12, to start the second quarter.

Clinton County’s lead was short lived as North Hardin quickly tied the score at 14 in the opening minute of the second quarter.

The Dawgs dug in and went up 18-14 on a basket by Nick Brown and two free throws by Chase Stines with 3:45 on the clock.

At the 2:40 mark, North Hardin cut the lead to one point, 18-17, but a basket by Parker Tallent put the Dawgs up by three, followed by a free throw by Stines to move up by four, 21-17 with 2:04 remaining.

By the end of the half, North Hardin managed to score to cut the Dawgs lead to two points at halftime, 21-19.

The third quarter went much the same way with both teams keeping within arm’s length of each other.

With North Hardin up by one, 26-25, Clinton County’s Dearborn hit a field goal and a three pointer, along with a free throw from Stines to put the Dawgs up by five, 31-26, with 2:10 on the clock.

North Hardin scored a field goal at the two minute mark to cut the lead to three, but a basket by Brown put the Dawgs up by five, 33-28.

The Trojans would score again at the 1:08 mark, but baskets by Tallent and Guffey put the Dawgs up by seven with 30 seconds remaining in the quarter, 37-30.

North Hardin cut the lead to four just as the quarter came to a close on a free throw and a field goal, 37-33.

It took the better part of the fourth quarter, but the Dawgs were finally able to pull away with a 10-4 run in the first four minutes of the final period, 47-37.

Clinton County reached its biggest lead of the game at the 2:01 mark, 50-39, but North Hardin scored five straight points to cut the lead to six with 1:27 on the clock, 50-44.

The Dawgs stayed strong in the end as Stines hit three free throws and Brown hit one to put the score at its final, 54-44, and see the Dawgs pick up its second win of the season.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Stines 15

Dearboarn 14

Guffey 9

Brown 7

Tallent 4

Cross 3

Delk 2

Clinton County 45

Franklin-Simpson 46

In what should have been an easy win for the Dawgs in its home opener Friday night turned into a nightmare for Head Coach Todd Messer as he watched a 26 point lead turn into a one point loss to the Wildcats, 46-45.

During the first quarter, Clinton County seemed to come out of the locker room on a mission as the Dawgs scored at will and held Franklin-Simpson on defense.

Clinton County held the Wildcats to only six points in the first quarter for a 17-6 lead and only allowed six more points in the second quarter for a 35-12 halftime score.

The second half was a much different story. The Dawgs came out after halftime and scored a three pointer by Dearborn to put Clinton County up by 26 points, 38-12, then it was all down hill from there until the end of the game.

Franklin-Simpson starting cutting into Clinton County’s lead and by the end of the third quarter, the Wildcats trailed by only 15 points, 42-27.

Offensively, not much happened for Clinton County in the final eight minutes of the game. Brown hit one free throw and Guffey hit one field goal and that was all from the Dawgs.

Franklin-Simpson, on the other hand, seems to score on baskets they wouldn’t even attempt in the first half and with that, the Wildcats cut the lead to one point, 45-44 with 1:02 remaining in the game.

Down by one and the ball with 34 seconds after Brown missed a shot at the foul line, Franklin-Simpson managed to score with 3.8 remaining on the clock for a one point lead, 46-45, which is the team’s first lead of the night.

Clinton County was unable to get a last second shot off to win the game, as Franklin-Simpson came from 26 points down to take a one point victory, 46-45.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Brown 14

Guffey 12

Dearborn 10

Tallent 4

Melton 4

Delk 1

Clinton County was back in action Tuesday at home against Monroe County (too late for press deadline) and will travel to Metcalfe County on Friday to take on the Hornets.

Evan Dearborn put up a three pointer during the first half of Friday night’s home opener against Franklin-Simpson. Depsite being up by 26 points, the Dawgs lost by one, 46-45.

Nick Brown drove the lane and was fouled on this shot during the first half against Franklin-Simpson Friday night. Clinton County lost the game by a final score of, 46-45. Brown finished with 14 points.