By Michael Lindsay
The Clay County Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs picked up a pair of victories in Gainesboro Tuesday evening as they swept Jackson County in non-district play.
The Lady Bulldogs cruised to a 65-38 victory before the Bulldogs overcame an 8-point deficit to win 41-37.
Girls
The Clay County Lady Bulldogs (21-4, 7-0) picked up their 7th consecutive win Tuesday evening with a 27-point victory at Jackson County (6-16, 2-4), 65-38.
“We got in a little foul trouble early and had some girls come off the bench and get us a really big lead,” said Clay County head coach Matt Walker. “I’ve been telling them all year to stay ready. To get to a state tournament, you’ve got to win 6 elimination-type games. You’re not going to shoot well in all of them, and in some of them, there’s going to be some foul trouble.”
Halle Buford led the Lady Bulldogs with 17 points and 4 rebounds, followed by Briley Burchett with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Madison Hayes also had double figures with 12 points and 9 rebounds.
Jackson County jumped out to an early 8-6 lead before Clay County settled in to take control. An Ella Eads three-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer gave the Lady Bulldogs a 21-10 advantage.
Clay County’s lead grew to 17 in the second period as they took a 41-24 lead into the locker room.
A Burchett three-pointer early in the third pushed the Lady Bulldog lead to 20, 47-27. Clay County held a 47-30 lead after three quarters before outscoring Jackson County 18-8 in the fourth quarter to win by a 65-38 final.
Each team is in action on Thursday as Clay County hosts Macon County while Jackson County travels to York Institute.
Clay County (65): Halle Buford 17, Briley Burchett 14, Madison Hayes 12, Landrey May 6, Laci Wix 4, Bella Ashlock 3
Boys
Tuesday’s UC Top 5 matchup saw the #2 Clay County Bulldogs pick up a win at #4 Jackson County, 41-37.
“It’s good for us,” said Clay County head coach Rob Edwards. “This is a good test, and they’re as good defensively as anybody we’ll see the rest of the way. It was good to have to play from behind, and it’s a really gutsy win by our guys.”
Jimmy Burchett led the Bulldogs with 14 points, followed by Nate Adams with 10 and Lance Burchett with 9.
Clay County (20-3, 7-0) trailed Jackson County (17-6, 6-0) by 8 points early in the fourth quarter.
“In a game that’s 41-37, 8 points is a lot,” Edwards said. “I told them to keep shooting open shots; we had some good looks and they just didn’t go in. We made an offensive adjustment in the fourth quarter and went with a smaller lineup to spread the defense out.”
The visiting Bulldogs were strong defensively early, leading 9-3 after the first quarter.
Jackson County kicked their offense into gear in the second period as an 11-5 run capped off by a Waylon Kennedy three-pointer tied the game at 14 with 2:30 remaining until halftime.
Clay County withstood the run and held an 18-15 lead at halftime.
Jackson County’s halftime adjustments were effective as they held the Bulldogs to only three third-quarter points, outscoring Clay County 12-3 in the period.
“We were up 3 at halftime and only scored 3 points in the third,” coach Edwards said. “Credit to Jackson County for that; they made some great adjustments. In the fourth quarter, we changed the tempo of the game and trapped them some. We made some shots down the stretch when we had to.”
The Blue Devils’ lead grew to 8 points (29-21) early in the fourth period before Clay County went on a quick 9-3 run to come within two points (32-30) with 3:45 remaining.
The Bulldogs finally broke through and retook the lead with 2:49 remaining as Lance Burchett finished an and-one to give his team a 33-32 advantage.
Keaton Arms pushed the Clay County lead to 3 points (35-32) via a basket with 2:18 left.
Jackson County’s Kendrick Brown responded with a putback to bring his team within one point (35-34) with less than 2 minutes remaining.
Clay County stepped up defensively and at the free-throw line in the final minute. Following a defensive stop, Lance Burchett made two free throws to push his team’s lead out to 37-34 with 45 seconds left.
The Bulldogs repeated that sequence 35 seconds later as Burchett again made two free throws after a stop, putting Clay County up 39-34 with 10.7 seconds left.
Jackson County hit a three-pointer with 2 seconds remaining to come within 2 points (39-37) before Jimmy Burchett closed the game out with two free throws with 1.3 seconds left to secure the 41-37 victory.
Clay County (41): Jimmy Burchett 14, Nate Adams 10, Lance Burchett 9, Keaton Arms 6, John Hamilton 2
