HEADLAND — Andalusia’s physicality and strong inside game made all the difference Friday night in the semifinals of the Class 4A, Area 3 tournament.

The Bulldogs dominated the court, utilizing its size and quickness to beat rival Straughn 60-27 in the Charles W. Smith gymnasium at HHS.

With this victory, the Bulldogs earned a berth in the Class 4A sub regional next week. Andalusia will face Headland, who beat Ashford 75-55 in the semis, on Monday night at 7 in the area championship.

“We knew what we had to do to have a chance to win,” Bulldogs coach Richard Robertson said. “For the most part we did that, but the thing is one time we get a little lakidaisical and get out of sync. For the most part, we executed our game plan and fortunately enough it worked.”

For Straughn, this ends a season where it got better as the weeks went by.

The Tigers never could come back after Andalusia (17-13) went on a 9-0 run late in the first period.

“We just couldn’t handle the physical play inside,” Tigers coach Rusty Andrews said. “We just couldn’t handle it.”

SHS started out with a 2-0 lead thanks to a Hobie Hughes put back, but Andalusia came back to tie the game on a Jacard Townsend lay up. Townsend led the Bulldogs with 26 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double.

Hughes tied the game back up at 4-4 with 4:16 on a pair of free throws and the Tigers would then take their only lead of the game on a Griffin Windham jumper with 3:39 left in the first period.

The Tigers missed two early lay ups, and Andrews said those were bad to miss.

“It was still 4-4 with three minutes in and I turned to (assistant) coach (Marc) Tracy and told him, ‘it doesn’t look good. We aren’t making anything.'”

Andalusia led 13-6 after the first period, and took an 18-6 lead on a Lakelyus “Fathead” Adams 3-pointer early in the second period.

At that point in the game, the Tigers got in foul trouble, and the Bulldogs took advantage and went ahead 20-6 with 3:12 left in the first half.

Straughn’s Avery Driver got a pass to Hughes on the inside and the Tigers trailed 22-10 with 1:48 on the clock.

Driver’s cousin, guard JD Driver drained two free throws as a result of Andalusia’s Sam Byrd’s third foul of the game. Byrd would end up finishing the game with three fouls, and seven points.

Townsend got a block on the defensive end and Joe Flowers made a jumper to put the Bulldogs ahead 26-12.

The score was 26-14 at half time and Andalusia jumped out to a 19-point 33-14 lead mid-way through the third period.

Andrews said he knew then that there was no way for a come back.

“I knew we had to cut into their lead (at half time),” he said. “When they came out and ran it out to 18 mid-way through the third quarter, I pretty much knew with the physical play that they had, there wasn’t any way we can make a come back.”

The Bulldogs outscored the Tigers 15-4 in the third period to lead 41-18 going into the final period of play.

In the fourth period, the Bulldogs went up 51-24 on an easy bucket from Townsend with less than four minutes to go.

Andalusia’s defense held Straughn’s scorers from scoring in double figures.

Hughes led the Tigers with eight points, and Avery, usually an outside threat, had six.

“Our game (plan) was to make them live from the outside,” Robertson said. “Their offense goes through him (Hughes).

“We made some defensive adjustments for this game, and it paid off,” he said. “But, as far as the season goes, we’re 1-0.”

Adams had 11 points, and Flowers chipped in eight points for the Bulldogs. Byrd had seven points.

Straughn finished its season 13-12.