Story and Photos by Rusty Ellis
The Clay County Bulldogs claimed their fourth consecutive district championship with a come-from-behind 64-55 win over Pickett County on Tuesday.
The Bobcats were the first ones to throw a haymaker, as they started out up 15-6 in the first quarter. Jeff Spivey knocked down a three-pointer and the Bulldogs scored the final five points of the frame to trim the deficit down to 15-11.
Pickett continued their excellent start to the contest, taking a 28-18 lead at one point for their biggest lead of the game. Clay battled back however, and by the time the halftime buzzer sounded, Pickett’s advantage was just five at 30-25.
The Bulldogs cut into the lead even further in the third quarter, as the Bobcats held a slim 41-39 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Clay took the lead with 6:37 to go in the game, as a layup by Grant Strong gave them a 44-43 advantage that they wouldn’t relinquish. The Bulldogs outscored the Bobcats 25-14 in the fourth to take home the district title 64-55.
Strong finished with a game-high 28 points, while Spivey added 18 for head coach Rob Edwards.
“I think just being persistent, especially there in the third quarter,” Edwards said about how his group got the job done. “We just talked about how we would have to be gritty and tough…these guys stepped up and took care of business.”
This isn’t the first time the Bulldogs have overcome an early deficit, and it likely won’t be the last time they’ll have to do it, but the veteran experience of the group and one possession-at-a-time mentality that Edwards chalks that comeback ability up to.
“We get a defensive stop and a defensive rebound and then we go down and try to get the ball in the right hands,” Edwards said. “Credit Pickett County tonight, they did a great job in the first half and shot the ball really well…the things we really thought we had to do was keep them off the offensive glass and stay in front of them defensively, and we did that.”
The Bulldogs will now host Knowledge Academy in the first round of the region tournament on Saturday.
