The Clinton County Bulldogs had a uncharacteristic week, dropping back-to-back games at the Riverside Prep Showcase and losing to 16th District rival Russell County Monday night on the Lakers’ home floor, 73-65. The Dawgs lost against Oldham County on Friday night, 56-39 and suffered a 20 point loss to Greenup County on Saturday, 57-37.

The bright spot in the week came for Clinton County during Tuesday night’s contest against Wayne County that had fans excited to see the Dawgs back on their feet, playing the way they have played most of the season, bring home a win.

As is with any Clinton County team, a win at Wayne County is not an easy feat, but the Bulldogs picked up win number 19 on the year, defeating the Cardinals, 65-53.

Clinton County 65

Russell County 73

The Dawgs moved its record to 19-6 on the year with a loss to the Lakers of Russell County Monday night.

The game was a make up game rescheduled from January 13. With the loss, both teams, Russell and Clinton, are tied for the number one seed in the district with records of 5-1.

A coin toss will determine which team will be the number one seeded team, and will determine which team will play on the first night of the district tournament held at Russell County February 20-24.

As of now, the district standings are final with Cumberland County picking up the number three seed with a record of 2-4 in district play, while Metcalfe County pulls the number four seed with a 0-6 district record.

Monday night’s game came at a bad time for the Bulldogs. Clinton County came off a long trip from Eastern Kentucky with one day’s rest and back-to-back losses in the Riverside Prep Showcase.

Although Clinton County struck first with two free throws by Keifer Dalton, Russell County hit the hardest scoring eight straight points for a 10-2 lead in the first quarter.

Clinton County cut the lead to five points on a free throw by Wendell Maupin, his only point for the game, and two by Sawyer Stalcup, 10-5.

Russell then scored four points to move ahead by nine points with 1:22 on the clock in the first quarter.

A field goal by Dalton cut the lead back to seven points with 38 seconds remaining, after Wayne Stearns hit a field goal, followed by a Russell County field goal.

As the quarter ended, Clinton County trailed by nine points, 18-9.

Russell County came out determined to get the jump on the Bulldogs and shot 60 percent from the floor, including 45 percent from the three point line in the first half.

Clinton County posted only 22 percent from the floor on five of 22 and hit zero threes in the first half.

The second quarter is when Russell County exploided and reached a 22 point lead with 1:46 on the clock.

Clinton County didn’t have an answer in the first half for the sharp shooting of the Lakers, but would come out in the second half and make a run at the lead.

The Bulldogs trailed at the half, 38-18.

As the third period got underway, Russell County continued to control the game. Both teams were putting pressure on the ball and hoping mistakes would be made.

The Bulldogs began to put up shots in order to make a run for the lead.

At the end of the third quarter, Clinton County trailed by 19 points, 54-35, despite outscoring the Lakers 19-16 in the third quarter alone.

As the fourth quarter got underway, Clinton County started chipping away at the lead, cutting it to 13 points with 5:32 remaining on a three point play by Dalton, 58-45.

Russell County hit back-to-back field goals to extend the lead back to 17, 62-45.

With 3:08 on the clock, Russell County still controlled an 18 point lead.

Stalcup hit a three pointer, followed by two free throws by Colby Lanford to cut the lead back to 13 points.

A foul sent a Russell County player to the line with 2:11 on the clock where only one of two was made, 69-55.

Then came the Bulldogs with a last ditch effort for the lead, with 2:01 on the clock.

Dalton drove the lane and scored a field goal. A defensive stop later, Clinton County had the ball and was fouled sending Dalton to the line where he made both shots to cut the lead to 10 points, with 1:13 on the clock, 69-59.

Russell County scored again to push the lead back to 12 points, but another three pointer by Stalcup cut the lead to nine points with 34 seconds on the clock.

A defensive foul sent Russell County to the line where two foul shots were made to push the lead to 11.

The Bulldogs’ last attempt at the lead came just too late as time ran out too soon. Stearns hit a three pointer with nine seconds on the clock to cut the lead to eight points, but the run was to little too late for the Dawgs as the team picked up its sixth loss of the season, 73-65.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Langford 27

Stalcup 13

Stearns 12

Dalton 11

Beard 1

Maupin 1

Clinton County 37

Greenup County 57

The final game of the Riverside Prep Showcase saw the Bulldogs drop its fifth game of the season to the team out of the 16th Region by 20 points.

The Bulldogs trailed after the first quarter, 17-11 and cut the lead to seven points at the half, 30-23.

Greenup came out in the third quarter and scored 19 points compared to Clinton County’s 10 for a 49-33 lead over the Dawgs.

The Bulldogs scored only four points in the final period, while Greenup put seven on the board to reach a 57-37 victory over the Dawgs.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Langford 18

Stearns 11

Stalcup 3

Beard 2

Maupin 2

Dalton 1

Clinton County 39

Oldham County 56

The first game of the Riverside Classic was a game that should have finished with a score closer than 17 points, with Oldham County ranked number one in the 8th Region with a similar record as the Dawgs.

Clinton County couldn’t find the bottom of the hoop as Oldham County defeated the Dawgs, 56-39.

During the first quarter, Clinton County put up only seven points compared to Oldham’s 13. The Bulldogs managed to post seven in the second quarter while Oldham County extended its lead for the advantage at halftime, 20-14.

During the third quarter, Oldham outscored the Bulldogs, 15-9 and posted 21 points in the final quarter while the Dawgs scored 16 for a 56-39 loss.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Langford 11

Dalton 7

Stearns 7

Stalcup 6

Maupin 4

Beard 2

Albertson 2

Clinton County 65

Wayne County 53

The Bulldogs, prior to losing back-to-back games at the Riverside Prep Showcase, played Wayne County on the road Tuesday night and picked up an impressive win over the Cardinals, 65-53.

Wayne County this season, has been known for posting high scoring games, some of which reach the 80s and 90-point range.

Clinton County held the Cardinals to only 53 points on its home floor, which is an impressive feat in its own.

During the first quarter, Clinton County fans got a taste of the scoring potential Wayne County has as the Cardinals posted 15 first quarter points.

Clinton County wasn’t far behind the Cardinals at the end of one, by scoring 13 points, but Wayne County was hitting from behind the three point line which could be a nightmare for any coach.

As the second quarter took place, the Bulldogs stayed strong on both offense and defense and tied Wayne County for points in the quarter with 12.

Clinton County’s Wayne Stearns rolled off a screen during an out of bounds play to tie the score at 23 and to move into the 1,000 point club. Stearns needed eight points to reach the 1,000 point mark and finished the game with 16 points. Wayne County led the Dawgs at the half by two points, 27-25.

After what seemed like a 20 minute halftime show, the game resumed and saw a different Clinton County team than what went into the locker room.

The Bulldogs started playing their style of basketball which meant adding pressure and turning the other team over with strong defense.

Keifer Dalton started the scoring drive for Clinton County in the third quarter to tie the score at 27.

Wayne County hit a three pointer to regain the lead, but a basket by Colby Langford and Stearns made for a 31-30 lead.

The Bulldogs then started adding pressure to the Cardinals, which in turn gave Clinton County some good looks at the basket on offense.

Clinton County put together a 14-2 run to finish the quarter with a nine point lead, 47-35.

The Bulldogs continued with their scoring in the fourth quarter, reaching a 21 point advantage at the 4:50 mark when Sawyer Stalcup knocked down a three pointer from the right wing, 60-39.

Wayne County would finish the game with 18 points, but Clinton County added five to its established lead to pick up it’s 19th win of the season, 65-53.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Stalcup 17

Stearns 16

Dalton 11

Langford 11

Maupin 9

Beard 1

Clinton County will be back in action on Friday night as the Dawgs host Monroe County at Lindle Castle Gymnasium. The game will start following the girls’ varsity game, which is set to tip off at 6 p.m.

Wayne Stearns finished the game with 12 points Monday night against Russell County, including this shot made in the second half. Clinton County fought hard, but couldn’t pull out the victory, losing 73-65.

Wendell Maupin went up for a shot last Tuesday night against Wayne County. The Bulldogs won the game, 65-53. Maupin finished with nine points.