The Clinton County Bulldogs are headed to the semi-finals of the All “A” Classic State Tournament this Friday to play the winner of Somerset versus Evangel Christian, which will be played on Tuesday night of this week, too late for press deadline.

Getting to the semi-finals wasn’t an easy task for the Bulldogs. Clinton County defeated two of the top rated teams in the tournament in Owensboro Catholic and Murray.

Clinton County 70

Murray 56

Clinton County was able to host the second round of the All “A” Classic quarter finals against Murray on Saturday.

Nick Brown opened up the game for the Bulldogs with a field goal for a quick 2-0.

Murray answered with a field goal to tie the score at the 7:05 mark.

Chase Stines hit a basket at the 6:26 mark, but Murray hit a field goal and a three pointer to take a 7-4 lead.

Blake Melton cut the lead to one point on a field goal, but Murray hit a field goal and two foul shots to take an 11-6 lead with 3:50 remaining in the first quarter.

Nick Delk hit a field goal at the 3:37 mark to cut the lead to three, 11-8, but a three pointer by Murray put the Tigers up by six, 14-8.

Stines hit a field goal at the 2:44 mark to reach 10 points, but Murray hit a field goal with 1:49 remaining for a 16-10 first quarter score.

Delk opened up the second quarter for the Bulldogs with a field goal to cut the lead to four points, 16-12.

Murray then put together a 6-0 run to take a 10 point lead with 5:18 on the clock.

Clinton County then went to work and outscored Murray 11-2 to finish the half down by one, 24-23.

Clinton County continued with its run into the third quarter and took a one point lead on a basket by Delk, 25-24.

Murray regained the lead on a field goal at the 7:17 mark, 26-25, but a field goal and three pointer by Melton and two foul shots from Brown put the Dawgs up by six with 5:17 on the clock, 32-26.

Murray then put together a 6-0 run to tie the score at 32. Melton answered with a field goal, but two three pointers and a free throw by Murray put the Tigers up 39-34 with 1:58 remaining in the quarter.

Back-to-back field goals by Brown and Bryson Cross cut the lead to one point, 39-38, with 1:16 remaining. Murray answered with a field goal, 42-38, but a three pointer by Melton cut the lead to one with 40 seconds on the clock, 42-41.

Murray finished the quarter with a basket at the buzzer for a third quarter lead of 44-41.

Stines opened up the fourth quarter for the Bulldogs with a field goal to cut the lead to one point, 44-43.

Murray added a three point play and a field goal for a 49-43 lead with 3:40 remaining in regulation.

At the 2:15 mark, Melton hit a field goal to cut the lead to four points, 49-45.

Murray then started working the clock and hit two free throws with 59 seconds remaining to take a six point lead, 51-45.

Melton hit a three pointer and a field goal to cut the lead to one point with 30 seconds on the clock, 51-50.

With the clock winding down, Murray went to the foul line with 11.2 seconds remaining and hit one of two for a two point lead, 52-50.

Clinton County brought the ball up the floor for a final shot and with four seconds left, Delk hit a basket on the right block to tie the score at 52.

Murray called a time out with 1.9 seconds remaining to travel the full length of the floor, but Clinton County blocked the pass sending the game into overtime tied at 52.

It took nearly a minute of the clock in overtime before either team would score and it was Clinton County’s Nick Delk putting the first basket in and drawing the foul. After hitting the free throw, the Dawgs took a three point lead, 55-52.

Murray’s next trip down the floor saw the Tigers at the free throw line, hitting one of two, to cut the lead to two points, 55-53.

Clinton County’s Delk then hit a field goal at the 2:07 mark to take a four point lead, 57-53.

Stines hit a field goal at the 1:39 mark, followed by one free throw from Cross for a seven point lead, 60-53.

Murray answered with a three pointer at the 1:06 mark to cut the lead to four points, 60-56.

In the final minute of play, Clinton County put together a 10-0 run to seal the deal and pick up the 70-56 win in overtime and to move on to the semi-finals of the All “A” Classic State Tournament in Richmond, Kentucky, on Friday at 4 p.m. local time.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Melton 21

Delk 21

Brown 13

Stines 10

Cross 5

Clinton County 64

Owensboro Cath. 60

Clinton County hosted Owensboro Catholic in the first round of the All “A” Classic State Tournament on Tuesday of last week.

The Dawgs started the game with a basket from Brown at the 6:39 mark for a 2-0 lead.

OC answered quickly with a field goal of its own, 2-2, but a free throw by Stines put the Dawgs up by one, 3-2, with 5:24 on the clock.

OC took the lead on a field goal and a free throw, 5-3, but Delk tied the score by knocking down two free throws at the 4:22 mark, 5-5.

Melton took the lead on a field goal, but OC answered with a field goal to tie the score at seven.

At the 3:15 mark, Brown knocked down a three pointer to take a three point lead, 10-7.

OC finished out the quarter with a 10-2 run to take a 17-12 lead over the Dawgs.

Both teams opened up the second quarter firing three pointers for a 20-15 score.

Stines cut the lead to two points on one free throw and a field goal with 5:50 on the clock, 20-18.

OC answered with a field goal, but two foul shots by Brown put the Dawgs back to within two points, 22-20.

With 3:35 on the clock, OC knocked down a three pointer to push the lead out to five points, but two foul shots by Stines cut that lead down to three, 25-22.

To finish the quarter, OC would add two field goals compared to Clinton County’s two free throws. At the half OC led the Dawgs, 29-24.

Scoring went back and forth for much of the third quarter until Melton hit a field goal with 45 seconds on the clock to give the Dawgs a five point lead, 42-37.

Both teams would add one field goal to each side of the scoreboard for a third quarter score of 44-39.

OC opened up the fourth quarter with a 5-0 run to tie the score at 44 with 6:59 remaining in the game.

Melton dropped in a field goal to regain a two point lead, but OC answered with a field goal of its own to tie the score at 46.

Brown and Delk combined for two field goals to take a four point lead with 5:04 on the clock.

OC cut the lead to two points, but Stines hit two from the line for a four point edge, 52-48.

On back-to-back possessions, OC tied the score on two field goals at the 4:05 mark.

Brown came through on the Dawgs’ next possession to take a two point lead, 54-52, but two free throws by OC tied the score at 54.

With 2:06 on the clock, Cross drove the lane and was fouled on a shot, sending him to the line to complete the three point play, 57-54.

A put back and two free throws by OC gave the Aces a one point edge with 1:27 on the clock, 58-57.

Melton hit a field goal, followed by one free throw from Stines, to give Clinton County a two point lead with 38 seconds remaining, 60-58.

With 20 seconds on the clock, OC missed their opportunity to tie the score, with Clinton County grabbing the rebound.

Brown was fouled with 12.9 remaining and hit two of two for a four point lead, 62-58.

With 10.5 on the clock, OC hit a field goal and quickly called a timeout for a 62-60 Bulldog lead.

With seconds ticking away, Cross was fouled with three seconds left. He went to the line and dropped in two foul shots to seal the deal for the Dawgs with a 64-60 win over the Aces.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Brown 17

Melton 15

Stines 14

Delk 8

Hay 5

Cross 5

Clinton County was back in action on Tuesday as the Dawgs traveled to Glasgow (too late for press deadline). The Dawgs will also travel to Richmond on Friday to play in the semi-finals of the All “A” Classic State Tournament.

Nick Brown broke away with a steal and a layup in overtime Saturday night against Murray. Clinton County won the game, 70-56. Brown finished with 13 points.

Chase Stines drove the lane during overtime against Murray on Saturday night. Clinton County moved on to the final four of the All “A” Classic State Tournament. Stines finished with 10 points during Clinton County’s 70-56 win.