The Class 4A No. 8-ranked Andalusia Bulldogs pulled off a big upset in the opening round of the Big Orange Classic in Hoover on Wednesday night with a 79-76 win over Class 6A’s top ranked Ramsay Rams.

Coming out of the gate, both teams made it clear they were looking to get up and down the court quickly.

Andalusia grabbed an early lead, but Ramsay kept things close as they kept scoring right along with the Bulldogs.

Andalusia continued to roll and went up 40-36.

Ramsay kept the game within reach late, but the Bulldogs were up 68-64 with just over two minutes remaining in the game.

Both teams continued to battle back-and-forth, but it was the Bulldogs who held off the Rams in the final minutes to earn a 79-76 win.

With the win, the Bulldogs will take on Hoover at 12:30 p.m., today, Thurs., Dec. 28 in the Hoover competition gym.

Andalusia moves to 9-0 on the season and look to continue that streak during the Big Orange Classic.

Hoover is the No. 3-ranked team in Class 7A and advanced in the winner’s bracket after knocking off Central Gwinnett.

Ramsay falls to 1-1 in the tournament after starting the day with a 84-48 victory over Osbourne earlier on Wednesday.

The Bulldogs got another strong scoring output from R.J. Drish, Trey Wilkerson, Keaun Samuel and B.J. Anderson.

Drish finished with 20 points and four 3-pointers.

Wilkerson had 20 points and went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final period.

Samuel also tacked on 20 points for the Bulldogs and Anderson finished with 16 points.

“It was a barn burner,” Andalusia head coach Anthony Clark said. “We were able to hold them at the end.”