Bulldogs Clinch Share of District 20-3A Title
Crockett 58, Frankston 32
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
CROCKETT – The Crockett Bulldogs came into Tuesday night’s game needing a win to clinch at least a share of the District 20-3A Championship.
It was Senior Night at the Andrew J. Hopkins Activity Center as the Bulldogs welcomed the Frankston Indians to town for a game the Indians desperately needed to win in order to stay alive in the playoff race.
The #2 ranked Bulldogs, however, dealt the Indians’ hopes a major setback as Crockett picked up the win and managed to clinch a share of the district championship with a 58-32 victory over Frankston.
Crockett’s defense controlled the first quarter as they held Frankston to five points on a three from Brink Bizzell and a two from Cael Bruno.
Ty White paced the Bulldogs first quarter scoring with seven points while a quartet of Crockett players – Courtney Byrd, Allen Horace, Teddy Jones and Delvin Walker – all had two apiece to help the Bulldogs take a 15-5 after the opening eight minutes.
The Indians’ offense began to heat up a little in the second quarter. Bizzell connected on a pair of shots from behind the arc while Bruno also dropped in six and Jaiden Dillard worked inside for two.
Just as the Frankston offense warmed up, their defense did as well. They held every player on the Bulldogs’ roster scoreless except for Horace who powered his way to nine points in the second quarter to help Crockett take a 24-19 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The second half of the game saw the Bulldogs begin to pull away from the Indians. Frankston only had a seven-man roster and began to show some signs of fatigue in keeping up with Crockett. Bizzell and Bruno scored three apiece for Frankston but that was it during the third quarter.
The Bulldogs, meanwhile, began to stretch their lead as White, Cristian Brice and Tre Hawkins all had four. Horace and Walker added two each to help push the Crockett lead to 40-25 after three periods of play.
Crockett put the game on ice in the fourth as they held Frankston to seven points on a three from Bizzell and twos from both Clay Kennedy and Caleb Ramsey.
The Bulldogs more than doubled the output of the Indians in the final period of play. Both Hawkins and Keshun Easterling hit from downtown while five other Crockett players all scored two apiece to help Crockett take the win by a score of 58-35 and clinch at least a share of the District 20-3A title.
On the game, the Indians were led in scoring by Brink Bizzell with 15 points and Cael Bruno with 11. Jaiden Dillard, Clay Kennedy and Caleb Ramsey all had two apiece to close out the Frankston scoring.
Nearly every player on the Crockett roster scored as they were led by Allen Horace with a game-high 15 points. Ty White joined Horace in double figures with 13 while Tre Hawkins had seven. Four Bulldogs – Courtney Byrd, Cristian Brice, Teddy Jones and Delvin Walker – all had four. Keshun Easterling dropped in a three-pointer while Jalyn Carruthers and Jadyn Collins both had two apiece.
The Bulldogs were back in action on Friday as they traveled to Westwood to take on the Panthers. As of press time, however, the final score was unavailable.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
