The Pike County Bulldogs are still in search of their first area win, this after they fell in close fashion to Abbeville Friday night 55-51.

Abbeville led 49-37 early in the fourth quarter before PCHS staged a rally.

PCHS switched to a full-court press in the fourth, which seemed to frustrate Abbeville for the remainder of the game.

“I really was just waiting on when to time it since we only have eight guys,” said PCHS head coach William Moguel. “I just wanted to make sure I didn’t tire our guys out too early, but once we jumped in it, our guys really responded well.”

Behind the increased defensive pressure, the Bulldogs went on a 14-1 run that saw them take the lead with just 50 seconds left on a lay-up from David Foster.

However, Abbeville responded on its next possession with a jumper from Quintin Newman to go up 52-51. Pike County promptly turned the ball over on its next possession and was forced to foul the Jackets’ Quin Sampson to extend the game.

Sampson knocked down both free throws to put Abbeville up 54-51, and Pike County’s Jeremy Rumph missed a 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds that wound up sealing the game for Abbeville.

Despite the tough loss, PCHS head coach William Moguel said he was proud of his team’s effort level.

“Our kids just really played their butts off tonight,” Moguel said. “It was probably the best four quarters we’ve put together all year. We had some missed shots, and those hurt us, but overall, I’m very proud of the kids and how hard they played.”

Part of the blame for the loss could be placed on Pike County’s inability to take care of the basketball against Abbeville’s press defense. The Bulldogs turned the ball over 36 times, with most of those coming in the first half.

“We had to make an adjustment at halftime,” Moguel said. “The press break we were running just wasn’t very conducive to breaking the press they were putting on. But, we made the adjustment and we were able to kind of force them to get out of that press.”

Kendrick Jackson led PCHS with 12 points, while Foster scored 11.

Following the loss, PCHS must now turn its attention to its game against Goshen today.

“We still have a lot of work to do, but we just don’t have a whole lot of time to do it because we have to get ready for Goshen tomorrow,” Moguel said.

Unfortunately for Pike County, the varsity girls team will also come into today’s game against Goshen on a down note.

The Bulldogs are winless on the season, a streak that continued last night with a 66-16 drubbing at the hands of Abbeville.

The Yellow Jackets led 37-10 at halftime and 55-15 after three quarters.

Pike County did not score in the fourth quarter until a single made free throw with roughly two minutes left to play.

Goshen and Pike County will play today in Goshen, with tip off for the junior varsity game set for 4 p.m. The varsity girls and boys will follow that game.