Led by the hot hand of Jace Reid, the Quitman Bulldogs raced past Kerens on Tuesday, Nov. 27, for a resounding 75-69 win to raise their early season record to 2-2.

Reid was near flawless, scoring 40 points, hitting on seven of eight three point shots, and eight of 11 two-point buckets. He also had 11 rebounds to record a double-double, and he also drew a charge.

Teammate Trey Berry was perfect on two-point field goals, going 5-5 and adding two free throws for 12 points. Riley Flanagan and Aiden Corrior added eight points each. Luke Pruden added four points and River Chaney tallied three for Quitman.

Quitman took a 36-20 lead to the locker room at intermission. Kerens mounted a comeback in the second half, scoring 49 points, but the Bulldogs hung on to score 39 of their own for the 75-69 final tally.

Head coach Jim Reid was pleased with the Bulldog’s effort against Kerens. “I was very impressed with the way in which we came out and played from the start against a very good and athletic team. We have been struggling over the past two games with starting strong. The team game that we played was incredible. We assisted 23 of 29 made shots, which is an outstanding assist percentage along with taking four charges,” Reid explained. “We didn’t quite finish the way we wanted and made the game a little closer than it should have been because of a few missed free throws, bad shot selection and turnovers. However, we never lacked in effort and hustle, and it is probably just the ‘old coach’ wanting the boys to be perfect early in the season. I love coaching these boys. They have a lot to learn and it will take a bit considering we don’t have any seniors, but I am confident that this team will continue to play hard and improve.”

The Bulldogs opened their season with a 64-26 thumping of Harleton on Nov. 16 at Ballard Memorial gym. Four Bulldogs scored in double figures with Reid hitting for 18 points, Berry, 13, with Flanagan and Pruden each adding 10. Reid also had nine rebounds, six assists and five steals. Berry had six rebounds while Pruden hit the boards for five.

Quitman roared to a 16-4 first-quarter lead and never looked back, taking a 33-18 lead at the half. The Bulldog defense took over in the second half, holding Harleton to just eight total second-half points while scoring 31 markers.

Quitman ran into a buzz saw on the road at North Hopkins as the hot-shooting Panthers took a 39-20 lead at intermission finishing with a 67-41 win.

Quitman traveled to the home of defending state champion Lipan for a tournament over the weekend. Quitman was scheduled to host Overton on Tuesday at press time and then head for the Van Tournament on Thursday through Saturday.