The Clinton County Bulldogs took one step closer to extending its post season Sunday afternoon by defeating Cumberland County, 60-53, in the first round of the 16th District Tournament.

With Sunday’s win, Clinton County will have a berth in the 4th Region Tournament.

The Dawgs started out a little on the rocky side as Cumberland County scored the first two points of the game.

Clinton County’s Chase Stines hit a three pointer from the right side corner to give the Dawgs its first lead of the game, 3-2.

From that point, Clinton county put together a 6-0 run for a 9-2 lead off of three pointers by Nick Delk and Nick Brown.

Brown finished the game with a season high 26 points.

Cumberland County was able to get back in the game and make it interesting for the fans.

By the end of the first quarter, Brown hit his second three pointer to tie the score at 16.

The second quarter went a little better for the Dawgs as shots began to fall for Clinton County.

With 1:30 remaining in the half, Blake Melton knocked down a three pointer from the left wing to put the Dawgs up by six, 29-23.

A questionable foul called as Cumberland County threw up a last second heave sent the Panthers to the line for three shots with .5 seconds on the clock.

With all three foul shots finding the bottom of the net, Clinton County headed into the locker room at the half with a three point lead, 31-28.

Clinton County opened up the second half with a 6-0 run to lead by nine points on baskets by Stines, Brown and Bryson Cross.

The Dawgs got into foul trouble during the third period as Stines went to the bench with four fouls and Delk had three. Delk eventually picked up his fourth foul with less than three minutes in the period.

The Dawgs led by eight points with 2:56 on the clock, but by the time the buzzer sounded to end the third, Clinton County was only up by three points, 40-37.

With eight minutes left to play, Clinton County tightened up on defense and offense.

The Dawgs started working the clock, but the true hero of the game was Brown, as he scored 12 of his game high 26 points in the fourth quarter.

Clinton County’s largest lead of the fourth quarter was nine points, but the game was much closer than what the final score indicated.

Down the stretch, Cross was able to hit eight of eight from the foul line, while Brown went four of four.

Cross’ last two free throws gave Clinton County a nine point lead, 60-51, with 14 seconds remaining.

Cumberland County managed to score a single field goal to end the game, but Clinton County’s lead was too great as the Dawgs earned its 20th win of the season, 60-53.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Brown 26

Cross 16

Stines 12

Melton 3

Delk 3

Clinton County 82

Somerset Christian 31

Clinton County’s final home game of the regular season was a blowout from the opening possession.

The Dawgs started with a 5-0 run, but Somerset Christian made a field goal at the 6:45 mark to cut the lead to three, 5-2.

Clinton County then scored the next 13 points to take an 18-2 lead.

By the time the first quarter had ended, the Dawgs led 24-6.

The rest of the game went pretty much the same way as the Dawgs outscored Somerset Christian 32-8 in the second quarter alone.

At the half, Clinton County led 56-14.

The second half started with a running clock for the Dawgs, which is a mercy rule put in place several years ago in high school basketball. Once a team reaches a 35 point lead, the clock continues to run for the remainder of the game.

By the end of the third, Clinton County led, 70-20.

Head Coach Todd Messer cleared his bench in the fourth quarter and was able to get everyone dressing varsity some minutes and points.

Every single player on the bench walked away from Tuesday night’s game with at least two points to their credit.

Eli Tucker knocked down a three pointer in the fourth quarter, Thomas Oesterreicher broke free for a layup, Cannon Young scored a field goal in the paint, and Brayden Stockton added five points to the board to round out scoring in the fourth quarter.

By the time the final buzzer sounded, Clinton County had picked up its 19th win of the season, 82-31.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Brown 13

Stines 12

Delk 10

Cross 9

Davis 8

Stockton 7

Hay 6

Dearborn 4

Nuetzman 4

Tucker 3

Oesterreicher 2

Young 2

Burchett 2

Clinton County will be back in action on Thursday night for the 16th District Championship game at 7 p.m.

Chase Stines went up for a basket in the first half against Cumberland County on Sunday afternoon in the first round of the 16th District Tournament. Stines finished the game with 12 points. Clinton County will face Metcalfe County in the finals on Thursday night.

Nick Delk knocked down a three pointer in the first quarter against Cumberland County Sunday afternoon.