Sports Writer

Pike County and Elba squared off Thursday night in a class 3A Region 2 match-up and although the Bulldogs fought back to tie the ball game at the end of regulation, overtime belonged to the Tigers, 66-59.

Elba’s John Mitchell scored the first points of the game as he banged his way through the lane. Moments later his score would be answered by a Bulldog layup of there own. Pike County kept the game close but could not manage to take the lead away as the Tigers led 15-12 at the end of the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter PCHS head coach Danny Suber looked to his bench and got four points early from forward Jermaine Johnson. But the rest of the second quarter belonged to Elba as they outscored the Bulldogs 16-10.

Pike County came out the second half on fire. Nick Walker opened up the half by stealing the ball, taking it coast-to-coast, and finishing the play off with a rafter rocking slam-dunk.

Though the Bulldogs would get close, they couldn’t take over the lead.

Elba would again pull away from PCHS toward the end of the third quarter with the score of 43-33.

But the Bulldogs weren’t done.

Pike County’s Michael Walker started the next comeback session when he pinned a potential Elba lay-up to the backboard with a blocked shot. This streak pulled the Bulldogs to five points down at the end of the quarter.

Suber decided the fourth quarter would belong to his two big men, Nick Walker and Antwann McGuire, but it was a little man who came up big with less then two minutes left in regulation. Vincent Ellington spotted up from way behind the three-point arc and nailed it, tying the game at 52-52. After an Elba basket, Pike County got the ball back, down by two points and with under a minute left on the clock. Ellington threw a bullet to Michael Walker for an easy lay-up to send the game to overtime.

Nick Walker lead the Bulldogs with 16 points and Michael Walker also contributed with 11 points. Elba’s three man scoring tandem consisted of: John Mitchell (21), Marcus Henderson (17), and Quinton Gavin (16).

The Lady Bulldogs picked up their first win of the year with 51-41 victory over Elba, also on Thursday.

The Lady Tigers would keep it close with two minutes left in the second quarter, but Pike County’s DeeDee Rodgers start warming up, giving Pike County an 18-14 lead at the break.

PCHS took control of the game early in the third quarter. Wennica Foster rejected an Elba three-point attempt and

Rodgers grabbed the ball, took it the length of the court and scored on a layup. From there on, The Lady Bulldogs sailed easily to a regional victory.

Pike county was lead by Rodgers’ 21 points, Foster’s 11, and Stephani Caffie with 10.