By THOMAS P. WEAVER
HORIZON Editor

CELINA-The Clay County Bulldog basketball team headed into action here Tuesday night against neighboring-county rival Red Boiling Springs (15-6) ranked as the #3 Class A team in the state by the Associated Press and they entered the contest following three-straight wins last week.

The 16-2 Dawgs rebounded from their second loss of the season to York (11-5) in the Sgt. York Christmas Invitational Championship by downing District 6-A foes Jackson County (7-9) and Pickett County (10-7), before dominating Class AA Macon County (5-13) over the weekend.

Clay County is tied at the top of District 6-A at 5-1 with the other Bulldog team and Gordonsivlle (11-6)—who handed the Dawgs the only other blemish on their record.

Following the clash with RBS, Clay County was set to host the Tigers Friday night, before traveling to Trousdale County (7-10) the following Tuesday.

Both of their upcoming contests will be carried live by the Horizon Sports Network online at www.dalehollowhorizon.com as a part of the live-stream broadcast affiliate’s District 6-A Showcase coverage, which will continue throughout the remainder of the regular season.

Dawgs……….……65
Jackson Co……….43
GAINESBORO-After a fairly close first quarter, Clay County blew their game open against Jackson County here last week with a huge second quarter and went on to beat the Blue Devils 65-43.

Grant Strong threw down a tomahawk dunk midway through the second stanza to make it 31-13 and the Dawgs outscored Jackson County 25-6 in the same period to carry a 39-14 lead into intermission.

Strong went on to score a game-high 21 points, but all four other Clay County starters reached or came close to double figures. Mason Sharp posted 13 points, Jeff Spivey 11, Gunnar Silk 10, and Jake Ashlock fell just shy with nine.

The Dawgs didn’t let up in the second half and took a 61-29 advantage into the fourth quarter, where reserves finished off the 22-point victory.

DAWGS (65)-Strong 21, Mason Sharp 13, Spivey 11, Silk 10, Ashlock 9, Bryce Bailey 4, Alec Kerr 2, Eli Smith 2, Carson Sharp 2, Heath Hensley 2.

Dawgs……….……67
Pickett Co…..…….53
BYRDSTOWN-Despite trailing the entire first half, Clay County battled back to beat Pickett County 67-53 here last Friday night behind stifling defense and a big fourth-quarter push.

The Dawgs fell behind 18-15 at the end of the first and the Bobcats led 28-26 at the break, but that all changed early in the second half thanks to suffocating defense from Smith, Kerr, Silk, and others paired with 41 second-half points from Clay County.

While the Dawgs limited the Bobcats’ production, Spivey buried a pair of threes to cap his 11-point night and Ashlock, who added 15 points, followed suit with a trey of his own, all in the third, to help Clay County claim a 44-40 advantage heading into the final frame.

There Strong put up 17 of his game-high 27 points to help his team pull away for the 14-point win.

DAWGS (67)-Strong 27, Ashlock 15, Spivey 11, Silk 7, Kerr 4, Smith 3.

Dawgs……….……71
Macon Co…..…….42
LAFAYETTE-Clay County’s game with Macon County was put away early by the Dawgs, as they went up 20-4 by first-quarter’s end and rolled to the 71-42 non-conference victory here Saturday afternoon.

Clay County led 35-12 at halftime, 56-30 at the end of the third period, and cruised to the 29-point victory behind a game-high 23 points from Strong, 16 by Spivey—who nailed four three-pointers in the contest, and 15 more scored by Ashlock.

DAWGS (71)-Strong 23, Spivey 16, Ashlock 15, Silk 7, John Hamilton 5, Kerr 3, Bailey 2.