The Bulldogs moved to 7-3 during the first part of the holiday break, picking up wins over Seneca and Iroquios, while falling to Boyd County and Muhlenberg County during the Twin Lakes Holiday Classic held at Lindle Castle Gymnasium.

Clinton County 68

Seneca 67

The Clinton County Bulldogs pulled off an amazing win Thursday night, playing more than a game and a half against the Redhawks of Seneca after three overtime periods were needed to decide the game.

During the first quarter, Clinton County’s Dalton appeared to have the game in his control, scoring the first six points for the Bulldogs during the first four minutes of the game, 6-6.

With a collective effort, Davis, Langford and Beard combined for six more points while holding Seneca to only two points to take a 14-8 lead with 1:36 remaining in the quarter.

Seneca cut the lead to four on a field goal, but Dalton scored four more points to finish the quarter with an eight point lead, 18-10.

Clinton County continued to stay in command of the second quarter, but it didn’t take long for Seneca to sneak back in the game. A couple of free throws by England gave the Bulldogs a 10 point lead with 5:32 on the clock, but by the end of the period, Seneca had cut the lead to five points, 27-22.

As the third quarter got underway, Seneca started to pick up its defensive pressure. The Bulldogs hit a cold streak and found themselves down by two points after a third quarter buzzer beater by Seneca edged the Dawgs, 36-34.

Clinton County picked up the pace in the final quarter of regulation and started matching Seneca basket for basket. With 5:24 on the clock, Clinton County was down by three points, 43-40, Langford hit two free throws to cut the lead to one point, but Seneca hit another basket to extend its lead to three, 45-42.

Dalton hit one of two from the line with 4:10 remaining in regulation, but a basket by Seneca pushed the lead out to four points, 47-43.

The Bulldogs then scored six unanswered points to take a two point lead with 1:35 on the clock. With 50 seconds remaining, Seneca, hit a jumper to tie the score at 49. With 34.9 seconds on the clock, Dalton drove the lane in an attempt to score the winning points for the Bulldogs, but came up short. The next trip down the floor, Seneca held the ball for the same opportunity. After several misses, Langford was called for a foul with one second remaining, sending Seneca to the foul line for two shots.

Much to the surprise of the fans, both foul shots were missed, sending the game into the first overtime period tied at 49.

With four more minutes added to the clock, Clinton County still struggled to make shots, allowing Seneca to grab a four point lead on two free throws with 1:42.

With 38.5 seconds on the clock, Langford hit one of two from the foul line to cut the lead to three points, 55-52. A defensive stop for the Bulldogs on the following possession gave Clinton County a chance to tie the game and with 18 seconds showing, Langford knocked down a wide open three pointer from the right corner for a 55-55 ball game.

Seneca’s final shots in the overtime period didn’t go through and the game was sent into the second overtime period.

As both teams struggled to find the energy to complete the game, both teams found themselves tied at the two minute mark in the period, 59-59.

One of two free throws by Seneca gave the Redhawks a one point edge, but another big three pointer by Langford gave the Bulldogs a two point edge with 1:28 remaining. Seneca scored again to tie at 62, but with time on the clock for Clinton County, one last attempt to win was on the line.

With the ball in Dalton’s hands, he was fouled with 6.2 left on the clock. Dalton missed two free throws to seal the game and Seneca’s last second attempt went bust to send the game into the third overtime period, tied at 62.

In an attempt to change the course of the game, Assistant Coach Mike Beard and Head Coach Todd Messer came up with a plan. During the previous three jump balls, Seneca had obtained the jump mainly due to the center’s height.

Just like the previous three jump balls, Seneca’s center tapped the ball directly behind him without looking to see who was there. Previously, a Seneca player had been there to recover the basketball, but during the third overtime jump ball, Joe Davis diced through the center of the floor and grabbed the ball just before a Seneca player could take possession.

During that first possession, Clinton County ran about 20 seconds off the clock and finally Dalton took the ball toward the goal and made a basket for a two point lead, 64-62.

Seneca’s next trip down the floor, the Redhawks hit a three pointer to take a one point lead with 3:25 remaining in the period.

Langford went to the line for two free throws, only hitting the second for a tie game at 65 all with 3:06 on the clock.

To get a defensive stop, Clinton County’s Davis took a charge and Clinton County got the ball back with 2:24 on the clock.

During that possession, Langford was fouled again, sending him to the line for two shots. He hit both free attempts and gave the Bulldogs a two point lead with 2:15 remaining, 67-65.

The Bulldogs then put on a 1:42 second defensive hold, but Seneca hit a basket to tie the score at 67.

Clinton County had control of the ball during what was thought could be the final possession of the game. With 4.2 seconds remaining, Dalton drove the lane in hopes of getting an easy two point basket. He missed the shot, but was fouled on the play, sending him to the line for two shots.

Dalton hit the first one and missed the second one requiring Seneca to get the rebound and travel the entire length of the floor in four seconds. When the buzzer sounded, Seneca failed to score giving Clinton County the one point advantage for the win, 68-67.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Dalton 29

Langford 19

England 9

Beard 5

Davis 4

Cook 2

Clinton County 56

Iroquois 46

Friday morning, Clinton County took on Iroquois in its second game of the Twin Lakes Holiday Classic.

The game started out slow for both teams, with the first basket coming at the 4:02 mark in the first quarter by Iroquois.

Clinton County’s England hit a field goal and was fouled for the first points for the Bulldogs. He hit the free throw to take a one point lead, 3-2 with 3:26 remaining in the period.

Both teams continued to show poor shooting abilities during the remainder of the quarter, finishing with a 7-7 tie.

During the second quarter, Dalton hit two free throws and a field goal to take an 11-7 lead. Iroquois hit a field goal to cut the lead to three points, but a three pointer by Beard gave the Bulldogs a six point lead with 5:45 on the clock.

Iroquois scored again to cut the lead to three, but a basket by Davis and two free throws by Dalton extended the Bulldogs’ lead to seven, 18-11.

Clinton County continued to keep Iroquois at arms length and went into the locker room at halftime with a three point lead, 27-24.

During the third quarter, Clinton County was again slow to start as Iroquois tied the game after Langford hit a basket at the 6:41 mark.

With a 29-29 tie game, Clinton County put together a 7-0 run to move ahead 36-29 with 1:36 on the clock.

Iroquois scored on its next possession to cut the lead to five, but a basket by Dalton and a three pointer by Beard pushed the lead to 10 points, 41-31, at the end of the period.

The Bulldogs coasted during the fourth period, never letting Iroquois any closer than nine points.

The Bulldogs held on to take win number two of the tournament, 56-45.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Dalton 19

England 13

Langford 6

Beard 6

Davis 4

Nelson 3

Claywell 3

Cook 2

Clinton County 57

Boyd County 60

The Bulldogs picked up its first loss in the tournament, second of the year, to Boyd County on Friday night of the Twin Lakes Holiday Classic.

During the first quarter, Clinton County led by five, 14-9, but a second quarter surge by Boyd County saw the Bulldogs head into the locker room at halftime in a familiar situation, tied at 31.

During the third quarter, Clinton County was outscored by three points, 16-13, and those three points would determine the outcome of the game as Clinton County tied with Boyd County in the final quarter, 13-13.

Clinton County’s Davis hit a game high five three pointers and England scored a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to give the Bulldogs the win.

Clinton County shot 14 of 39 for 36 percent, including six of 17 from the three point line for 35 percent. From the foul line, Clinton County hit 11 of 18 for 61 percent. For the game, Clinton County committed 19 turnovers.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Davis 16

Langford 13

England 12

Dalton 11

Beard 5

Clinton County 63

Muhlenberg County 68

The final game of the tournament saw Clinton County take on Muhlenberg County. As pervious games turned out, Clinton County had two wins and a loss and according to the points accumulated in the tournament, a win would secure a first place finish for the Bulldogs.

However, Bulldogs never could find a solid rhythm for the game and at the end of the first quarter, Clinton County was tied with Muhlenberg County, 17-17.

During the second quarter, Muhlenberg County hit a three pointer right out of the gate. Dalton answered with a free throw, but Muhlenberg County put together an 8-0 run to move up by 10 points on the Bulldogs, 28-18.

Clinton County never recovered in the first half and went into the locker room with a five point deficit, 33-28.

During the third quarter, Clinton County showed a little more life, cutting the lead to three points on a field goal by Beard, 33-30.

Muhlenberg then hit back to back baskets to extend the lead back to seven points, 37-30, with 6:23 on the clock.

Clinton County matched Muhlenberg point for point for the remainder of the third quarter, cutting the lead to five points on two free throws by Langford with 33 seconds on the clock, 47-42.

During the fourth quarter, Clinton County started pressing on defense. Although the press did give up some easy points for Muhlenberg County, it proved to be more detrimental to the opponent.

The Bulldogs fought back and finally cut the lead to two points, 60-58 with 2:20 on the clock.

The final two minutes, Clinton County made a run for the game, but couldn’t quite get over the hump.

Muhlenberg County hit two free throws with 1:37 remaining for a four point lead, but Langford cut the lead to two point on two free throws of his own, 62-60.

A field goal with 59 seconds remaining by Muhlenberg extended the lead back to four points, but a basket and a foul on England saw Clinton County get to within one point, 64-63 with 45.5 on the clock.

Two free throws by Muhlenberg County extended the lead to three points, 66-63. The next possession for Clinton County, the Bulldogs needed to score in order to stay in the game. The Bulldogs failed to obtain a basket and had to foul Muhlenberg County in order to stop the clock.

With 11 seconds showing, Muhlenberg hit two free throws to push the lead to five points, 68-63, and what would end up as the final score of the game.

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Dalton 25

England 13

Langford 11

Davis 8

Beard 6

The Dawgs will play in the Lloyd Memorial Classic on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, December 27, 28 and 29.

The first game for the Bulldogs will be against Villa Madonna, followed by Cooper on Friday, and Lloyd Memorial on Saturday.

Ethan Cook was able to put the ball in the basket during Clinton County’s first game against Seneca during the Twin Lakes Holiday Classic last week. The Dawgs finished the tournament with a 2-2 record.

Ryan Beard hit a shot during the first half against Seneca during the Twin Lakes Holiday Classic.