CELINA-The Clay County Bulldogs kept their district mark unblemished at the halfway point of the 7-A schedule with an easy 59-33 win over Red Boiling Springs here last Friday night.

Clay County moved to 5-0 in district play, putting the game away very early. CCHS scored the first 13 points of the contest, and carried a 22-4 lead into the second quarter.

The Bulldogs improved to 15-4 overall, and for the second week in a row were ranked in the top ten statewide in the Associated Press poll. The Dawgs were tied for sixth with old rival Temple in the first AP poll two weeks ago, and were in sixth place alone last week. The third AP poll was due out yesterday.

CCHS was scheduled to play at district foe Jackson County last night, and to host region member Friendship Christian Friday night (see related story). 

The Bulldogs jumped out to their 13-0 lead early in a fast-moving first quarter. Included in their 22 first-period points were several layups and wide-open jumpers. 

The scoring pace slowed considerably from that point on, with the verdict settled, but the Clay lead ballooned to 33-10 at intermission. Clay County had a 26-23 scoring margin in the second half to account for the final score.

CCHS used a balanced scoring attack, with three players in double figures and five with at least seven points. Shawn Garrett led the way with 13 points, followed by Nathan Knight and Tyler Edwards with 12 each. Nolan Dale had eight points, Scott Brown seven, Joe Adams four and Brian Korth had three.

Edwards had a pair of three-pointers, while Brown and Korth also had treys. Edwards had three assists on the night.

•

CELINA-The Clay County Lady Bulldogs ran their District 7-A mark to 4-1 on the season with their second win of the season over Red Boiling Springs here Friday night, topping the visitors 68-55.

CCHS gradually built up a significant lead on the visitors over three quarters, taking a 44-30 lead into the final period, and held off an early fourth-quarter rally by RBS to gain their 13th win of the season against five losses.

Amelia Kirk carried the bulk of the scoring load, especially in the first half, but the scoring was spread around quite a bit more in the second half. Kirk had 15 of the team’s 28 points in the first half, but four Lady Dawgs wound up almost hitting double figures in scoring. Clay County scored 40 points in the final two quarters. 

Sarah Ogletree gave the CCHS girls a lead they never relinquished with a three-pointer to start the scoring, and Clay held an early 8-1 lead before RBS battled back to close to within one at 10-9. A Kirk rebound basket late made it 12-9 after one quarter.

Courtney Key got the second quarter off to a good start for Clay County with a three-pointer to make it a five-point game, and that lead grew to as many as 15 in the period. RBS scored the final four points of the stanza to make it 28-17 at the half.

CCHS again built on their lead in the third quarter. A drive by Kayla Kimes made it 35-22, and a pair of buckets by Tristan Watson, who had seven points in the quarter, pushed the lead to 17 points. A late three-point play by Watson made it 44-30 heading into a high-scoring fourth quarter.

Red Boiling put together a run early in the fourth quarter, outscoring CCHS 9-1 in the first minute of the period to pull to within six (45-39). From that point, Clay County consistently went to the free-throw line and made enough of them to keep the visitors at bay.

CCHS wound up hitting 19 of 29 free throws, with the bulk of them coming in the final seven minutes of the game. The Lady Dawgs regained their double-digit lead for good with a three-pointer by senior Katie Kerr on an assist from Ogletree, and the game was never really in danger past that point. Three RBS players wound up fouling out in a fourth quarter that saw the two teams combine for 49 points.

Kirk wound up with 19 points to lead the scoring effort and also pulled down a whopping 15 rebounds in another overall fine performance. Kimes followed with 12 points and four assists, while Watson scored 11. Kerr wound up with nine points and Ogletree 8. Freshman Sydney Roach had six points, all from the foul line, and a pair of assists, while Key had three points.

The Lady Bulldogs were scheduled to play third-ranked Jackson County last night in Gainesboro, and to host region foe Friendship Christian Friday night.