The Clinton County Bulldogs moved to 7-7 on the year with a tough loss to neighboring Pickett County Tuesday night, 65-53.

Clinton County    53
Pickett County    65

Clinton County made the short drive across the state line to play Pickett County Tuesday night, which ended in a game much closer than the final score would suggest.
The Dawgs fell behind early as Pickett County drew first blood with a three pointer at the 6:55 mark. On the next possession, the Dawgs were right back in it with a three pointer by Cohen Davis.
Pickett County answered with another three pointer, but Steele Burchett hit a layup to get to within one point at the 5:54 mark, 6-5.
Pickett County went up three points on the next possession on a field goal, but Davis answered with his second three of the game to tie the score at eight all.
At the 3:50 mark, Pickett County went up by one on one of two from the line, but Burchett made two of two from the line to tie the score at nine with 2:57 remaining in the first quarter.
Almost 50 seconds later, Pickett County went up by two on a made field goal, but Nick Poore scored a layup to tie the score again, 11-11.
Pickett County broke the tie again with a made field goal at the 1:15 mark, but Clinton County finished the quarter on a 4-0 run, with a layup by Poore and a steal and layup by Davis, 15-13.
Clinton County continued its run into the second quarter when Cannon Young made a basket to give the Dawgs a four point lead, 17-13. Pickett County then hit back-to-back field goals, including a three pointer, to take a one point advantage, 18-17, with 6:17 on the clock.
The game went back and forth for the remainder of the half with neither team getting more than two points away from the other.
By the end of the first half, Clinton County went into the locker room with a one point edge, 26-25.
The third quarter went a little different for the Dawgs, especially in the first half of the third as Pickett County put together a run and added some space between themselves and the Dawgs.
The Bobcats opened with an 8-2 run to lead 33-28, but a three pointer by Cohen Davis cut the lead to two points, 33-31.
Back-to-back-to-back three pointers by Pickett County gave the Bobcats an 11 point lead with 3:44 on the clock, but the Dawgs had an answer.
With 3:22 on the clock, Clinton County managed to close out the quarter with an 11-2 run that ended with a three pointer in the corner by Drew Davis to trail by only two points leading into the final period, 44-42.
The Dawgs remained close in the start of the fourth quarter and even tied the score at 50 on a basket by Burchett at the 5:01 mark.
Pickett County then put up four points for a four point lead, 54-50, then it was back and forth from the foul line that saw Pickett County grab a six point lead with 37 seconds remaining.
Poore hit a field goal with 27 seconds on the clock to cut the lead to four, 57-53, but Pickett County answered with a field goal to push the lead back to six, 59-53 with 18 seconds on the clock.
With the clock winding down and a foul called on Burchett, a technical foul was whistled for his fifth foul, sending Pickett County to the line for four shots total.
The Bobcats reached a 10 point lead after knocking down all four free throws, 63-53, then finished the game with two more foul shots with three seconds on the clock to reach the final score and loss for the Dawgs, 65-53.
Individual scoring for Clinton County was:
Burchett    18
C. Davis    16
Poore    8
Young    7
D. Davis    3
Irwin    1

Tampa Bay
Invitational
The Clinton County Bulldogs “flew south for the winter” to participate in the Tampa Bay Invitational in a post-Christmas tournament and was able to bring back some hardware as the team picked up runners-up honors.
Clinton County went 2-1 in the tournament, losing in the championship game to Springboro, Ohio by a final score of 55-47.

Clinton County    68
Kathleen    57

The Bulldogs began its week in Florida with a game on Wednesday, December 27, 2023, against Kathleen, a team out of Lakeland, Florida.
The Dawgs started out in full control of the game as Clinton County took an early lead, 21-9, at the end of the first quarter.
The Dawgs’ offense took a dive in the second quarter, being outscored 15-10, but still led at the half, 31-24.
Coming out of the locker room at halftime, Clinton County stepped it up a notch or two, scoring 22 points in the period, compared to Kathleen’s nine. The Dawgs were outscored in the fourth quarter, 24-15, but still remained in control of the game as Clinton County came out with the win, 68-57.
Clinton County was able to shoot 56.1 percent from the floor, including 30.8 percent from three point land.
The Dawgs managed to pull down 39 rebounds as a team with Cannon Young grabbing 12 on his own, while Drew Davis pulled down eight for the game.
Clinton County finished the game shooting 18 of 35 from the foul line for 51.4 percent.
Individual scoring for Clinton County was:
Young    18
Burchett    14
C. Davis    11
D. Davis    10
Mason    7
Poore    6
Irwin    2

Clinton County    58
Excel Christian    52

In the second game of the tournament for the Dawgs, Clinton County faced Excel Christian Academy out of Lakeland, Florida on Friday, December 29, 2023.
The Dawgs won the contest by six points as Young put up another double-double with 13 boards along with 19 points.
During the first quarter, Clinton County fell behind early as the Dawgs put up only 10 points in the eight minute period.
Clinton County saw scoring from Steele Burchett with five points, three from Cohen Davis and two from Young.
The second quarter didn’t go as planned for the Dawgs either as Clinton County put up only 12 points to ECA’s 14.
At the half, Clinton County trailed, 29-22.
During the third quarter Clinton County began to chip away at ECA’s lead.
The Dawgs managed to outscore ECA 16-12 and cut the lead to three points by the end of the eight minute period, 41-38.
The fourth quarter is when the Dawgs found the separation it needed to grab the win.
Clinton County saw Cohen Davis score eight of his game total 17 in the fourth quarter, followed by six each from Young and Burchett. Drew Davis rounded out scoring in the fourth quarter with a field goal, for 20 points compared to ECA’s 11. By the time the final buzzer sounded, Clinton County came out on top, 58-52.
Poore finished the game by grabbing 10 boards and Burchett finished with nine boards.
The Dawgs shot only 37.9 percent from the floor, including hitting only one of seven from three point land.
From the foul line, Clinton County hit 13 of 29 for 44.8 percent on the night.
Individual scoring for Clinton County was:
Young    19
C. Davis    17
Burchett    11
Poore    5
Mason    4
D. Davis    2

Clinton County    47
Springboro, OH    55

Clinton County picked up runners-up honors in the Tampa Bay Invitational after falling in the championship game to Springboro, Ohio, on December 30, 2023.
The Dawgs started things off on the right foot against Springboro, leading 19-3 after the first quarter.
Springboro kicked it up offensively in the second quarter and outscored the Dawgs 20-8, but Clinton County remained in the lead at the half, 27-23.
The Dawgs fell behind in the third quarter by only posting six points during the eight minute period, compared to Springboro’s 12 points. At the end of three, Clinton County trailed by two points, 35-33.
The final quarter sealed the deal for the Dawgs as Clinton County hit only three field goals, all three pointers, from Cohen Davis, Cameron Irwin, and Jaxon Mason. Clinton County’s remaining points in the period came from the foul line, where Burchett hit four of six and Cohen Davis hit one of two for 14 points total.
Springboro managed to post 20 points in the period to edge the Dawgs, 55-47.
Individual scoring for Clinton County was:
Burchett    15
C. Davis    12
D. Davis    8
Young    4
Irwin    3
Mason    3
Poore    2

The Dawgs will be back in action on Friday at home as Clinton County hosts Metcalfe County in a girls’/boys’ double header. The Dawgs will also be at home on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 in junior varsity/varsity action against W.E.B. Dubois High School.

Cameron Irwin pulled up for a shot during the first half of Tuesday night’s game against Pickett County. The Dawgs lost the game, 65-53, and moved to 7-7 on the year.

Steele Burchett went up for a layup during the first half against Pickett County Tuesday night. Burchett finished the game with 18 points.