The Pike County boy’s basketball team clinched a share of the regular season area title on Friday night when they knocked off Providence Christian 46-35.

The Bulldogs overcame a slow offensive start and pulled even with Houston Academy with their 11-point win.

“We were a little sluggish offensively,” said Bulldogs head coach Doug Holland. “I was proud of how we bounced back after how we looked against Charles Henderson. I was really proud of them getting a win tonight.”

The Bulldogs did what they had to do to pull even with Houston Academy. Now a coin flip will determine who will host and be the number one seed in the upcoming area tournament.

“Whatever happens with coin toss is fine,” Holland said. “We played a lot of teams on the road and one thing about our basketball program, we don’t hang regular season banners. We are looking for an area championship.”

The Bulldogs despite getting seven points out of Andres Burney in the opening quarter never led and went into the second trailing 13-11.

“They did a good job bouncing back tonight,” Holland said. “They Played hard and stayed focused. I was proud of their intensity in the second half.”

With the help of five more Burney points in the second quarter, the Bulldogs picked up their first lead with 2:40 remaining in the second quarter. They went into halftime holding a slim 24-21 lead.

Holland spoke of intensity in the second half. The intensity ramped up on the heels of two thundering dunks by senior Jaidyn Wilson in the third quarter.

“He has really come on in the last half of the season when we needed him,” Holland said. “He is one of our best offensive players and he has no doubt been the best defensive player.”

Wilson scored six points in the third quarter and the Bulldogs went into the fourth holding a 38-27 lead.

The Eagles were able to get back to within single digits for a brief time before the Eagles stretched their lead back out to as many as 14.

Burney finished the game with a team-high 15 points, while Wilson had 11. Kevon Harris finished with six points.

The Bulldogs have three more regular season games remaining on their schedule before the start of the area tournament. Holland would like to see a bit more consistency out of his players.

“Consistency and being able to play better defense on the perimeter,” Holland said. “I think Charles Henderson really exposed us with how they can shoot the ball.”

The Lady Bulldogs were also in action on Friday night against the Eagles. Kyah Rouse had an opportunity to send the game into overtime with a buzzer beater, but the shot clanked off the rim giving the Eagles a 55-53 win.

The Bulldogs found themselves down by three points with just 25 seconds remaining after Rouse converted a free throw. After a missed free throw by the Eagles, The Bulldogs had one final shot to push the game into overtime. Rouse had an open look in the paint, but couldn’t convert the basket.

Precious Vaznaian led the Bulldogs with 18 points, while Rouse finished with 11. Urriyah Berry had 10 points and Tajh Boyd finished with 6.

The Bulldogs will be back in action on Monday when they host Notasulga. X