Bullock vs. Pike County in prep action

OZARK — The Dothan Progress/Dothan Eagle/Southern Star Holiday Prep Classic defending champions are still alive. Barely.

Junior guard Anthony Pendleton hit two free throws with 5.4 seconds left as Bullock County survived to beat Pike County 40-38 at the Ozark Civic Center.

The Hornets, who have won all five of their tournament game appearances, advanced to Monday’s second round of the tournament sponsored by The Cochran Firm. They will face Barbour County, playing their nearby rival for the third time in 20 days.

Pike County, making its first Holiday Prep Classic since 1982, was eliminated.

“It was rough,” Bullock County head coach Dedrick Sumpter said. “This group of kids is young and we have six kids with injuries right now, so we are just fighting
“We have to play so much better, it is ridiculous.”

The two teams’ final 78-point total matched the 10th lowest for a game in the 26-year history of the tournament. It was the lowest since last year’s Andalusia-Charles Henderson game, played exactly a year ago to the day.

Bullock’s Pendleton hit 1-of-2 free throws with 1:09 left to pull the Hornets even at 38.

He grabbed the rebound following the miss on the second attempt and the Hornets called time out.

On the ensuing play, he drove the lane, but missed a layup under pressure and Pike County’s Kendrick Jackson grabbed the rebound.

Pike County’s Martellius Foster missed on a short shot with just under 40 seconds left and Bullock ran clock off before getting the ball into Pendelton’s hands with less than 10 seconds left.

As the junior, who penetrated several times to the basket, began to make his move, he was fouled by Pike County’s Quavin Bailey with 5.4 seconds left.

He made both free throws to put the Hornets up two.

Pike County had one last chance, but Josh Parker lost control of the basketball as he reached the front court and the horn sounded to end the game.

Pendleton had 16 points to lead Bullock County, which had seven players score.

Jackson led Pike County with 14 points and Tevin Andrews earned 11.

Bullock County lead 35-29 with 5:10 left, but the Bulldogs rallied with nine straight points to take a 38-35 lead with 2:17 left.

Jackson had five points in the spurt and Foster four.  Andrews made several nice passes for assists.

Foster scored on a short jumper to give Pike County its three-point lead.

However, Pendleton converted a fastbreak layup then tied it with a free throw, setting the stage for the final 1:09.

Both teams played at a deliberate pace, working for open shots in the halfcourt set and Pike County refused to let the normal up-tempo Hornets work into their fastbreak attack.

As a result, the score stayed low. Pike County led 6-0 with less than three minutes to go in the first quarter and eventually took a 10-4 lead after the quarter.

The offenses warmed a little in the second quarter, but not much and the Bulldogs took an 19-17 halftime lead to the locker room thanks in part to a late 3-pointer by Josh Parker.

The teams combined to make only 16-of-38 shots in the half and were 0-of-5 at the foul line.

In the third quarter, Sumpter called for a halfcourt trap and it rattled the Bulldog offense, creating 11 turnovers in the period.

The Hornets continually swatted away passes for steals, leading to fastbreak layups and a 33-25 lead after three quarters.

“Our offense in the game was our defense,” Sumpter said.

Pike County rebounded in the fourth quarter, behind Foster and Jackson.