The Pike County Bulldogs struggled to hold on to the basketball in their 47-43 loss against Daleville in the area opener on Tuesday night.

The Bulldogs turned the ball over 19 times in the loss that brings their record to 5-4 overall and 0-1 in area play.

The Bulldogs turned the ball over 9 times in the first half and went into the locker room at halftime trailing 20-14.

“I thought we played slow in the first half,” said Bulldogs head coach Doug Holland. “Our movement on the floor in our offensive sets was slow. We had early foul trouble and nine turnovers in the opening half.”

In the third quarter, the Bulldogs outscored the Warhawks 15-9 and entered the fourth quarter tied at 29 a piece. In the fourth quarter, the turnovers were too much to overcome and the Warkawks were able to secure the four-point win over the Bulldogs.

“We played better in the second half,” Holland said. “We had poor defensive rotations and we had too many turnovers (10).”

The Bulldogs had two players score in double figures in the loss. Uri Rouse led the way with 15 points, while Juhmir Lampley finished with 10. Jahzarian Lampley finished with eight points on the night.

The Bulldogs will look to right the ship this Friday night when they host Ashford beginning on Friday night at approximately 7:30 p.m.