The Quitman Bulldogs fell behind early to Sabine, but a stout defense and timely scoring got on track, leading to a 60-53 win over the Cardinals in the final game before Christmas. 

Sabine raced to a 7-0 lead when Bulldog Brady Floyd fed post Landon Richey who put in two. Sabine came back with a triple and it was 10-2 in favor of the Cardinals. 

Down 12-4 with 3:02 left in the first quarter the Bulldogs went on a 10-0 run on triples by Hunter Jacobs and Levi Thompson, a put back by Garin Kisinger, a bucket by Floyd. That left the score at the end of the quarter 14-12 with Quitman in the lead. 

Sabine’s Jayden McPherson got hot in the second quarter, scoring nine of the Cardinals’ 16 points in the period. The Bulldogs tied the game at 19-19 on a Thompson trey. After a Thompson lay-up gave the Bulldogs a 26-25 lead, McPherson hit another triple putting Sabine back up 28-26. The Cardinals got a pair of free throws to end the half with Sabine leading 30-26.

The teams battled evenly in the third quarter as the Bulldogs finally tied things up at 35-35 on another Thompson field goal with 4:03 left in the quarter. A Jacobs long ball for three was good at 2:58 followed a minute later by a Thompson triple and Quitman led 41-35. Kisinger hit a bucket and the quarter ended with the Bulldogs taking a 43-39 advantage.

The Bulldog defense came through in the final quarter. Carter Smith, Brandon Hayes and Payton Sapp each came in the game and made defensive contributions. Two of the shortest players, Hayes and Sapp, each came up with big rebounds for Quitman.

Jacobs made another three-pointer extending the Bulldog lead to 46-44. Floyd made a shot on a great pass from Thomas Sabedra making it 48-44. Thompson put in another triple followed by a 12-foot jumper from Floyd with 1:48 to play, giving a 55-48 edge to the Bulldogs.

Thompson nailed the coffin shut with yet another triple, and Kisinger added a pair of free throws in the final seconds to give Quitman the 60-53 win.

Thompson led the Bulldogs with 27 points while Jacobs hit for 13 and Floyd 11. The Bulldogs will be playing at the Leonard Tournament Dec. 28-30.

District play begins for Quitman Jan. 3 at home against Harmony.