The Andalusia Bulldogs boys varsity basketball team opened the season under new head coach Marshall Locke with a dominating victory over the Luverne Tigers 61-45 on the road Tuesday night. While the Bulldogs looked to move on from the departure of hall of fame head coach Richard Robertson, opponent Luverne was looking to move on from the departure of superstar Donta Hall, who now suits up for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

 

After a tight first quarter, which ended in a buzzer beater to put Andalusia on top 19-15, the Bulldogs pulled away in the second quarter with B.J. Anderson leading the way for his bulldogs. Andalusia led 34-23 at halftime in which Anderson scored 19 points in an impressive half.

 

The Bulldogs pulled ahead even farther in third quarter extending their lead to 47-34 and would go ahead by more than 13 points in the fourth quarter at one point, but the Tigers attempted to claw their way back into the game late, even cutting the lead to 8 at one point. However, Anderson and the Bulldogs forced multiple turnovers late in the game and Zackari Woods sank several big free throws down the stretch to snuff out any Luverne comeback attempt.

 

The Bulldogs’ defense was ferocious all night forcing Luverne into tough shots and contesting almost every shot taken in the game.

 

Anderson would finish with a game best 28 points, while Trevor Parker added 11 points and Ian Peek scored eight points. The Bulldogs will host Geneva Friday night in the team’s first home game of the season.

 

Earlier in the day, Andalusia’s B-Team got things started against Luverne with a 35-33 come-from-behind victory. The Bulldogs B-Team outscored Luverne 10-3 in the fourth quarter to pick up the victory. Andalusia was led by Rodney Drish’s 11 points and Odarius Womack’s 10 points in the game.

 

The Andalusia Lady Bulldogs fell to 0-2 on the season 53-44 to the Luverne Tigers. The Lady Bulldogs hung tough with the Lady Tigers throughout the first half in a gritty back-and-forth half as the Tigers led 26-24.

 

In the second half, the Tigers pulled away late to eventually win 53-44. The Lady Bulldogs were led by Aaliyah Lawrence who scored nine points while Merikal McCaskill and Shay Thomas each scored seven points for Andalusia. In total, 10 Lady Bulldogs scored points in the game despite the loss.