The Andalusia Bulldogs opened up the first round of the 49th annual Andalusia Invitational Tournament on Thursday night with a big 66-48 victory over the Brantley Bulldogs.

Brantley came out with a blistering pace and built a 19-9 lead at the end of the first period.

Adrian Person and Moses Thomas gave Brantley a healthy lead with a two 3-pointers each in the opening period.

Andalusia got a 3-pointer from Ke’Shun Townsend and got two points each from R.J. Drish, Ian Peek and Zack Woods.

Drish sparked a big rally for Andalusia when he knocked down a trey to start the second period and cut Brantley’s lead to 19-12.

Trevor Parker cut into the lead further when he scoring after James Montgomery came up with a steal.

Parker followed with a steal of his own and another basket to trim the deficit down to 19-16.

Alex Sheridan made it a one-point game a minute later and then Anderson tied it up at the free throw line.

Brantley went back up by three when Person converted an old-fashioned 3-point play.

Andalusia went right down there court and knotted the game up on 3-pointer from Woods.

After Brantley took a one-point lead with a free throw, Anderson put Andalusia up by one with a put back on the other end.

Person put Brantley back on top 25-24 with 8 seconds left before half, but Parker fired up a buzzer-beater that hit nothing but net to give Andalusia a 27-25 lead at halftime.

Parker picked up right where he left in the first half with a long 3-pointer to begin the third.

Montgomery moved the lead up to 32-25 with a steal and layup on the following play.

Anderson began to catch fire scoring 8 points during Andalusia’s 15-2 run to start the third, including a rafter-rocking dunk that brought the crowd to their feet.

At the end of the third period, Andalusia held a 44-33 advantage.

Woods got the fourth period off to strong start with a 3-pointer, and Sheridan followed with a layup to put Andalusia on top 49-33 with 6:50 left.

Both teams continued to battle, but Andalusia closed out the game with a 13-2 run.

After Brantley got a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 51-42, Parker knifed his way through the defense a finished the drive with strong layup.

Anderson continued his strong night with a put back after grabbing an offensive rebound.

Peek added on to the Andalusia lead with a jumper from the low post, and then Anderson came up with a steal and a layup to give Andalusia a 59-46 lead.

On the Andalusia’s next trip down the court, Woods buried a dagger from behind the 3-point line to give Andalusia a 62-46 lead.

Brantley got one more point on a free throw, but then Andalusia got a bucket from Townsend to go up 64-47.

Woods ended the game by grabbing a steal and taking it back for an easy layup to give Andalusia 66-48 round-one win over Brantley.

Anderson led Andalusia with 15 points. Woods added 13 points and Parker finished with 12 points.

Andalusia will play Red Level tonight at 8:30.

Brantley will take on Luverne at 4:00 today.