Story by Rusty Ellis
The Clay County Bulldogs saw their Class A Championship defense come to an end on Friday in a 51-43 loss to Peabody.
Both defenses came to play early, and it was Clay County who held a 12-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. That frame saw the Bulldog defense hold Peabody to just 4-15 shooting from the floor and 0-5 from three.
The two teams continued to battle in the second, and each scored 12 points to send the score to halftime in favor of Clay County 24-22. Both teams combined to shoot 0-17 from three in the opening half, a trend that continued deep into the fourth quarter.
The third saw more of the same from the second, only this time, Peabody got a last-second bucket from Derek Kee to give the Golden Tide a 36-34 lead.
Both teams struggled to open the third quarter, as Clay didn’t even scratch the scoreboard until over halfway into the frame. This gave Peabody the opening they needed, and a Jason Hunt three-pointer, the only one from either team in the game, gave the Golden Tide a 41-36 lead with 1:32 remaining.
An alley-oop to Lee put the exclamation point on this contest, as Peabody clinched a spot in the Class A Championship game with a 51-43 win over Clay County.
Two-time Mr. Basketball winner Grant Strong finished with 19 points on 6-21 shooting from the floor for head coach Rob Edwards.
“I thought we played great on the defensive end,” Edwards said. “Most of the time, we’ll score more than that, but we just didn’t tonight…they’re shot-blockers and rim protectors, and we weren’t able to get to the free-throw line as much as we like to. For us to win, we have to get to the free-throw line.”
The physicality Peabody played with in the second half made a big difference in holding the Bulldogs in check at both ends, something that Edwards knew they would have to be ready for.
“We had talked about being able to take a charge when they came in (the paint),” Edwards said. “I don’t know that we did that very often, but at the same time, they went up and put the ball in the basket when they had to, and we didn’t on our end.”
It marks the end for a senior class that has won 120 games in their four years in Celina, and for Edwards, it’s a senior class that he’s proud of on and off the floor.
“Clay County’s only been to the state semifinals four times, and they did it twice,” Edwards said. “A more important part of that is how they represented our school and our community through the years. These guys are all great students and high character people, and they’re going to be great members of society when they graduate.”
The Tennessee Tech signee Strong closes the book on a very successful career in Clay County that’s seen him win two Mr. Basketball awards and a Class A Championship in 2021. For him, getting to put on the Clay County jersey every game has been a blessing that he’s thankful for.
“It’s meant everything to represent Clay County,” Strong said. “The community’s done a lot for us, and to put on that Clay County jersey for four years straight, it’s been an honor and I couldn’t be happier…(Edwards) has had a lot of great teams, and he really helped me. He developed me, and he’s done a whole lot for me. I’m very thankful for him.”
The Bulldogs finish the season with a 24-7 overall record.
Photos by Kailee Means:
