The Andalusia Bulldogs picked up a pair of big area wins on Thursday night over the W.S. Neal Eagles in Andalusia.

GIRLS

ANDALUSIA 56, W.S. NEAL 11

In the opening varsity match, the Lady Bulldogs pounced and the Lady Eagles for a 56-11 victory.

Things got going early thanks to big baskets from Alex Crittenden out of the gate.

At the end of the first half, the Lady Bulldogs were on top 36-6.

Katie Black had a couple of buckets and 3-pointer from Crittenden helped build the Lady Bulldogs’ big lead.

The Lady Bulldogs continued to pour it on the second half and held off the Lady Eagles for the victory.

“The biggest thing I saw tonight was that we started with a lot of energy,” Lady Bulldogs’ head coach Brad Garner said. “That is something that we have been struggling to do. Overall, I was very proud of the way we played and executed tonight.”

Crittenden finished as the Lady Bulldogs top scorer with 24 points.

BOYS

ANDALUSIA 69,

W.S. NEAL 29

The No. 6-ranked Bulldogs responded from a tough loss on Tuesday night with a huge 69-29 victory over W.S. Neal on Thursday night at home.

“I think maybe that Tuesday night’s loss to Monroe County may have been a wake up call for us, or at least I hope it was,” Andalusia head coach Anthony Clark said. “We had a really good day of prep on Wednesday and we seem to have our focus back.”

The Bulldogs came storming out in the opening frame and jumped on top 20-9 at the end of the first period.

B.J. Anderson knocked down a 3-pointer at the end of the opening period to give the Bulldogs a double-digit lead.

Anderson continued to play strong and kicked in 8 points in the second period to help put Andalusia up 35-15 at halftime.

Ke’Shun Townsend dropped in a 3-pointer for the Bulldogs in the second period.

In the third period, the Bulldogs’ offense remained steadfast as they continued to build a commanding lead going into the final period.

Derrick McQueen got the hot hand in the final period for the Bulldogs as he chipped in 8 points in the fourth to help Andalusia seal the victory.

Anderson led the way for the Bulldogs with 21 points.

McQueen finished the game with 10 points.

“I felt like we did a good job of executing early and we had a lot of guys coming off the bench and contributing points,” Clark said. “I really thought we played at a high level all night, and that is not something that we have done a lot of times.”

In other Class 4A, Area 2 action, Monroe County defeated Escambia County to set up a possible three-way tie for the top spot in the area.

The Bulldogs will have to defeat Escambia County to force the three-way tie.

Andalusia and Escambia County will play Saturday will games beginning at 1 p.m.