The Quitman Bulldogs raced to a 39-17 lead over Wood County rival Alba-Golden in the first half and held off a second-half comeback effort by the Panthers to win 69-54. 

Boedy Baker got the Panthers off to a 2-0 start, but Quitman came back with a triple by Brady Floyd. A three-point bucket by Quitman’s Jack Tannebaum at the 3:19 mark put the Bulldogs up 11-6, and  a Levi Thompson trey with 40 seconds left in the quarter had Quitman up 17-8 after one period. Quitman also got triples from Thomas Sabedra and Jack Tannebaum in the opening quarter.

The Bulldogs separated themselves from the Panthers in the second quarter, outscoring them 22-7. Ford Tannebaum and Thompson each hit threes in the quarter. Floyd hit a bucket with 13 seconds left in the half to put Quitman up 39-17.

Led by 10 points from Baker in the third quarter, the Panthers came back to cut the Quitman lead to 48-37 going into the final eight minutes of play. 

A Ford Tannebaum trey got things rolling for the Bulldogs to start the fourth quarter, but Will Hartin hit a triple for the Panthers making it a 51-40 game. Another Hartin bucket with 1:35 left in the contest cut the Bulldog margin to 62-54, but the Panthers did not score again, and Quitman buckets from Thompson, Aiden Corrior and Sabedra made it a 69-54 final.

The Panther’s Baker led all scorers with 25 points. Quitman’s well-balanced attack saw Floyd, Sabedra and Ford Tannebaum with 12 points each while Thompson and Corrior each added nine points to the Bulldog offensive effort.

The Bulldogs are sitting at 4-2 for the season, and after Tuesday’s game at Big Sandy they travel to take on a tough Queen City team Friday. The Bulldogs won’t have another home game until a Dec. 28 battle with Class 4A Canton.