TAKING IT WITH AUTHORITY: Bulldogs split with Luverne in hardwood action

Published 12:05 am Tuesday, December 12, 2017

The Andalusia Bulldogs split varsity games on Monday night against Luverne in Andalusia.

GIRLS

LUVERNE 45,

ANDALUSIA 39

In the opening varsity game of the evening, the Lady Bulldogs made a comeback attempt, but came up on the short end of a 45-39 score.

The Lady Bulldogs trailed 14-8 at the end of the first period, but battled back to tie the game 30-30 heading in the final frame.

Andalusia went up 36-33, but Luverne turned it up a notch in the final minutes to pick up the victory.

Alex Crittenden led the Lady Bulldogs with 12 points.

Shay Thomas tacked on 11 points for the Lady Bulldogs.

BOYS

ANDALUSIA 69,

LUVERNE 53

The Bulldogs came out of the gate with a lot of power and held off Luverne for a 69-53 win.

Andalusia won the opening tip as Trey Wilkerson went up and tipped the ball over to Keaun Samuel.

Samuel then slung the ball to Wilkerson who took it to the rim for a monster dunk.

Back-to-back buckets from B.J. Anderson then had the Bulldogs up 6-0 early in the contest.

A few minutes later, Anderson got an assist on a bucket from Samuel to put Andalusia up 15-0.

The Bulldogs offense continued to surge and the defense was limiting Luverne to no more than one a shot each series.

At the end of the first period, Andalusia was on top 17-2.

In the second period, Anderson got things started with a quick 3-pointer.

Wilkerson then made a strong drive to basket and was fouled in the process of making the shot.

Wilkerson tacked on the free throw to put Andalusia up 23-2.

Curtis Daniels then got in on the scoring with a strong baseline drive and layup to give Andalusia 29-4 advantage.

Luis Reyes added a layup and 3-pointer to close out the first half and give Andalusia a 37-7 lead heading into the third period.

Anderson made a power drive into the lane and finished the play off with a one-handed slam to put Andalusia up 45-13 early in the third period.

Luverne showed they weren’t going away without a fight and more than tripled their scoring from the previous two periods.

At the end of the third period, Andalusia was on top 58-32.

In the fourth period, the Bulldogs got a couple of big buckets from Caleb Williams to help Andalusia hold off Luverne for a 69-53 win.

Anderson led the Bulldogs with 15 points in the victory.

Wilkerson finished the game with 14 points.

“I was very pleased with the way we played in the first half,” Andalusia head coach Anthony Clark said. “We came out really well and played with a lot of energy. As for the kids, it’s tough to keep that level of intensity up when are up by 30 points, but that’s what championship teams do. I was upset with the way we played in the second half. In the first half, we rebounded well and were filling the lanes, but we didn’t keep that up in the second half. Hopefully we have learned a valuable lesson from this. We can’t have mental breakdowns regardless of the score or how much time is left. I was pleased that we got to play a lot of kids tonight. Most of the starters didn’t even play in the second half.”