The Clinton County Bulldogs finished the regular season with back-to-back wins, both on the road, with the first coming against South Laurel on Tuesday night, 58-37, and the second against Barren County on Thursday, February 16, 58-51.

The Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 22-6 record and moved into the first round of the district tournament with a three game winning streak.

Clinton County 58

Barren County 51

The Bulldogs traveled to Barren County Thursday, February 16, for the final game of the regular season.

The game started with a 4-0 run by the Dawgs as Wendell Maupin and Keifer Dalton made baskets.

Barren County cut the lead to one on a three pointer, but two baskets by Colby Langford pushed the lead to five points, 8-5.

The first quarter saw Barren County gain the lead with 52 seconds on the clock, 11-10, but a basket by Dalton and a three point play by Wayne Stearns gave the Bulldogs the edge, 16-11.

Barren County finished the quarter with a field goal to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to three points, 16-13, as the quarter ended.

During the second quarter, both teams matched each other scoring 11 points total. Barren County took the lead with 3:59 on the clock, 19-18 and continued with the lead on another field goal, 21-18.

Clinton County cut the lead to one when Stearns hit two from the foul line, but Barren County also hit two from the line for a three point lead, 23-20 with 2:53 remaining before halftime.

Dalton cut Barren County’s lead to one point with 2:42 on the clock, but Barren County hit one of two from the free throw line for a two point lead.

The Bulldogs finished the half with a 5-0 run to take a three point halftime lead, 27-24.

Both teams came out after halftime and the pace continued to stay the same. The Bulldogs couldn’t get ahead enough to relax as Barren County continued to answer everything Clinton County threw at them.

The lead was cut to one point at the beginning of the quarter by Barren County, but a basket and a free throw by Maupin gave the Bulldogs a four point lead.

The Trojans hit a three pointer to cut the lead back to one point, but another three point play by Maupin put the Dawgs up by four with 6:20 on the clock. The Trojans again answered with a three pointer with 6:01 remaining in the third, but Clinton County held strong.

For the remainder of the quarter, both teams traded baskets with Barren County converting a three point play at the end of the period to tie the score at 39.

The final quarter saw the stronger team survive as Clinton County opened the period with a 4-0 run. The run contined as Barren County only scored one field goal during the first four minutes and 30 seconds while the Bulldogs grabbed an eight point lead, 49-41.

Barren County put together a 5-0 run to cut the lead to three points with 1:25 on the clock, but a basket by Stearns put Clinton County up by five, 51-46.

The fight was still on for Barren County as the Trojans never gave up. Barren County hit a huge three pointer with 1:03 on the clock to cut the lead to two points, 51-49.

On the following trip down the floor, Dalton was fouled, sending him to the foul line. He hit two of two to regain a four point lead with 40 seconds remaining.

As the clock wound down, Barren County’s next attempt at scoring would be denied as Stearns stepped into the lane and took a charge, sending the posession to the Bulldogs with 30 seconds remaining in the game. Stearns was then fouled on the next possession and went to the line and drained two of two for a 55-49 lead.

Barren County hit a field goal with 13 seconds remaining, but Clinton County was strong from the free throw line, hitting four straight in the closing seconds, two from Stearns and two from Langford, to seal the win, 58-51.

Clinton County finished the game hitting 16 of 18 from the free throw line, pulling down 21 rebounds and shooting 48 percent from the floor on 20 of 42 shooting.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Stearns 23

Dalton 11

Maupin 10

Langford 9

Stalcup 5

Clinton County 58

South Laurel 37

The Bulldogs traveled to South Laurel Tuesday night to take on the Cardinals in what ended up being a 21 point victory for Clinton County.

South Laurel usually puts a good, competitive team on the floor, having won the State Championship in 2005 against 4th Region rival Warren Central, 70-59, but Tuesday’s matchup suggested the Cardinals are in a re-building year.

Clinton County opened the game shooting the ball well and leading 8-5 during the period.

Both teams went on a dry spell and failed to score. The Bulldogs finished the quarter with an 8-7 lead.

During the second quarter, Clinton County found the rhythm and put together a 7-0 run. The Bulldogs finished the quarter with Maupin going to work inside, scoring 10 first half points, for a 24-15 halftime lead.

During the second half, Clinton County was slow to start, but finally got back to normal as Maupin hit two free throws, followed by a field goal to lead 30-15.

The Cardinals scored a three pointer to stop the bleeding, but only for a minute as Stearns hit a basket under the goal for a 14 point lead, 32-18.

By the time it was all said and done, Clinton County had put together a 12-3 run.

South Laurel finally found some points late in the third, but not without Clinton County matching them.

The Bulldogs finished the quarter with a 40-26 lead.

The final quarter saw the Bulldogs cruise to a victory as South Laurel just didn’t have an answer. Clinton County won the game, 58-37.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Maupin 19

Dalton 11

Stearns 11

Stalcup 7

Langford 7

Davis 2

Choate 1

The Bulldogs played Tuesday in the first round of the 16th District Tournament at Russell County. The Dawgs’ first opponent was Cumberland County with that game too late for press deadline. Those scores and highlights will be included in next week’s edition of the Clinton County News.

The championship game of the district tournament will be held on Friday night, February 24 at 7 p.m. The finals of the district tournament will consist of Russell County, and the winner of Tuesday night’s game between the Dawgs and Cumberland County.

Monday night, Russell County defeated Metcalfe County, 71-34, in order to move on to the Championship game on Friday.

Wayne Stearns took this shot above the rim Thursday night against Barren County. The Bulldogs defeated the Trojans, 58-51, and moved to 22-6 on the year to finish the regular season. The Bulldogs played Cumberland County Tuesday night (too late for press deadline) in the first round of the 16th District Tournament. Russell County defeated Metcalfe County Monday night, February 20, 71-34, in order to play in the Championship game on Friday night.

Keifer Dalton drove the lane in the first half against Barren County on Thursday, February 16. The Bulldogs picked up win number 22 on the season during the team’s final regular season game. Dalton finished the game with 11 points.