By SETH HAGAN | For the Reporter 

MONTEVALLO – The Montevallo Bulldogs played well in their 2019 home opener against the Childersburg Tigers building several double digit leads during the game, but ultimately fell just short as the offense sputtered late giving the Tigers (12-6) their third straight win, 50-48.

Montevallo (7-7, 2-2) and Childersburg gave the fans a show in the first quarter as the teams combined for 14 field goals and 34 points. The Tigers began to press full court, but the Bulldogs countered it well with quick, accurate passes which translated into their half-court game.

Michael Jones became the main benefactor as the Bulldogs’ offensive ball movement found him for three shots from downtown in the opening period.

Kaleon Nix scored eight points on three consecutive shots to keep the Tigers close as Montevallo held an 18-16 lead at the end of the first.

The Bulldogs took control early on in the second quarter with a 14-3 run that gave them their largest lead of the ball game at 32-19. However, Childersburg answered closing the quarter with an 11-4 run of its own to clip the lead to 36-30 at halftime.

The game’s pace slowed immensely to open the second half as the teams combined for just five baskets in the third quarter. Montevallo also lost starting center Jamarius Carter to foul trouble getting his fourth foul early forcing him to miss much of the half.

Still, the Bulldogs’ lead crept up to double digits again with Jones’ fifth three of the contest to make it 43-33, but with a couple minutes left in the quarter, Montevallo went on a cold streak that lasted until the final minutes of the game.

The Bulldogs dribbled away the last two minutes of the third quarter and took much of the same approach to begin the fourth, but the change of pace seemed to stifle the defense further.

Montevallo found themselves in the bonus early as Childersburg committed their seventh foul a little more than two minutes into the fourth quarter, but initially, that still didn’t cure the team’s offensive woes.

The Bulldogs missed all three front ends of their 1-and-1 attempts and the void left the Tigers to take the lead with a 17-0 run.

MHS fought hard late in the game losing Carter to a fifth foul, yet the Bulldogs were still able to string together enough stops, offensive rebounds and free throws to bring themselves back to within one possession at 50-48.

The Tigers traveled off an inbounds pass inside a minute left on the clock leaving Montevallo with 36 seconds and a chance to send the game into overtime.

Childersburg had made it difficult for the Bulldogs to get a good shot off the entire quarter and the game’s final play reflected that. The Tigers forced an errant shot initially, but that was rebounded by Montevallo who quickly called a timeout with 12 seconds to go.

But the Tigers didn’t budge again, clogging the passing lanes inside to leave the Bulldogs with a tough 3-pointer that didn’t fall at the buzzer.

Jones led Montevallo with 17 points on the night as Tavicia Tutt added eight points to go with 13 rebounds.

Desmond Pearson scored eight in the fourth quarter to finish with a team-high 15 points for Childersburg with Nix finishing with 14.