After defeating G.W. Long and Dale County both with ease, the Bulldogs defeated an aggressive and determined Goshen Eagle team 56-48 to claim the Goshen Holiday tournament championship.

“I thought we played a little bit better in the championship game,” said Bulldogs head coach Doug Holland. “It was the first that we have won that championship over there in a long time.”

The Goshen Eagles made it to the championship round after getting wins over Brantley and Ariton. Although the Eagles lost in the finals, they hope the challenges they faced during the tournament will help prepare them for Area play in January.

“You play such a wide range of defense’s in tournament games like this,” said Eagles head coach Ethan Carroll. “ (Saturday) was no exception. They played aggressive man defense, which is something we needed to see. We need to play more teams like this to get us prepared for late season.”

The two teams were battling against each other all night long, and the first separation didn’t come until the third quarter.

The Bulldogs outscored the Eagles by 10 in the third quarter and were able to stretch their lead to 22. Goshen was able to get back into the game thanks in large part to Zach Alford who scored 20 of his 21 points in that period.

“They did a great job at shutting him down,” Carroll said. “He was able to catch fire at the end, and he was able to bring us back in it.”

The Bulldogs were able to right the ship with the play of leading scorers Deshon Cowling and Kamari Jackson, and held on to the eight-point win. Jackson finished with a team high 18 points while Cowling finished with 15. Fellow senior Jerrell Lawson also finished in double figures with 14 points.

The win for the Bulldogs (3-1) gives them confidence as they look ahead to a tough area schedule starting in January.

“It’s just one more game, but we understand that it’s good for our confidence,” Holland said. “We just hope that we can build on it and get ready for what lies ahead of us in January and leading into February. We need to keep focusing and working hard.”

After playing four games over the past week and Playing Ariton on Monday night the, the Eagles will prepare for a road trip to Brundidge to once again take on the Bulldogs. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Pike County will travel to take on Bullock County on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

“We hope to get back on track and revenge our loss from earlier in the year,” Holland said.