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The 2019-20 basketball season is finally underway on the campus of Pike County High School.

The Bulldogs started their season later than most due to the late finish this past football season.

They began the season with a loss to rival Charles Henderson on Tuesday night.

“We played well, but didn’t play great,” head coach Doug Holland said. “I think it got away from us late, more so because of not being in basketball shape.”

Not giving any excuses, Holland believes the lack of practice team led to his team being out of basketball shape and rusty on Tuesday.

“I think we were definitely rusty,” Holland said. “We only had the week of Thanksgiving to practice. You’re talking about only three or four days of practicing. You can tell they have played a lot more basketball.”

The Bulldogs enter the season with a roster that is full of plenty of new faces mixed in with veteran returners.

“There are a lot of new faces on this year’s team,” Holland said. “A lot of them came up through the B team. It’s a matter of transitioning them to the varsity program. We have some players that have been playing for a while; they are going to have to step in and play a big role on our team this year.”

Andres Burney will be one key returner this season. Already receiving phone calls from college programs, Holland believes he is far from reaching his potential.

“I don’t think he has scratched the surface on how good he can be,” Holland said. “He has a lot of people calling and asking about him. I am challenging him to not put so much pressure on himself. Sometimes he will play a little fast because he puts too much on his shoulders. I am challenging him to make the team and those around him better.”

The Bulldogs will once again play in Class 3A Area 4 along with Wicksburg, Houston Academy and Providence Christian.

“It’s going to be competitive again,” Holland said. “I think Wicksburg is going to be the team that everybody is going to eye. Houston Academy and Providence are always going to be good, but this year I think Wicksburg is going to take a lot of people by surprise.”

The Bulldogs will be back in action on Saturday afternoon when they take on Barbour County in the home opener beginning at 2:00 p.m.