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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

MONTGOMERY – The Montevallo Bulldogs brushed off a first-round defeat to finish the Jack Schweers Capitol City Conference strong with a pair of victories.

Montevallo defeated the Montgomery Catholic Knights 42-40 on Friday, Dec. 20 and the Prattville Christian Panthers 57-40 on Saturday, Dec. 21 in tournament play at Trinity Presbyterian School in Montgomery.

Before those wins though, the Bulldogs faced a stiff Class 6A test from the Pike Road Patriots and lost 71-65 in the first round on Thursday, Dec. 19.

Montevallo played the Patriots close throughout and took a 19-16 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to a strong deep shooting performance early on. However, Pike Road’s improved defense helped it go up 30-29 heading into halftime.

That led to a frantic third quarter where the teams combined for 55 points in just eight minutes. While Nahjear Russell and Buck Ross helped the Bulldogs offense during that stretch, the Patriots continued to outpace Montevallo and went up 59-55 at the start of the fourth.

It remained a two-possession game down the stretch, but a pair of Pike Road 3-pointers in the fourth quarter helped push the Patriots to a six-point win.

Despite the loss, Russell finished with 21 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Ross scored 18 points with five assists and four rebounds, Dee Cutts had 17 points and six rebounds and Demeco Gibson earned seven points, eight assists and four steals.

The next day against Montgomery Catholic, the Bulldogs had to work their way out of an early hole and trailed 17-9 at the end of the first quarter as Dee Cutts’ five-point period wasn’t enough to beat out the Knights’ MJ Belser and his strong start on offense.

Montevallo began cutting into the deficit in the second quarter though as Cutts and Russell spearheaded the offense and made it a three-point game at the half.

The teams went blow-for-blow in the third quarter with the momentum hanging in the balance. While AJ Dettery scored seven points in the quarter for Catholic, the Bulldogs matched the Knights’ offensive output and remained just three points behind at the end of the third.

Trailing just 33-30, Montevallo made its move. The Bulldogs took the lead and kept it at the end thanks to multiple late free throws on the way to a two-point win.

Cutts led Montevallo with 16 points and six rebounds. Russell finished with 11 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Gibson had six points, eight assists and four steals and Ross earned five points, five assists and four rebounds.

The Bulldogs built off their tight win as they battled Prattville Christian for fifth place in the Capitol City Conference.

Montevallo used a balanced offensive attack to take a double-digit lead in the first half. It started with seven different scorers in the first quarter, including multiple baskets from Russell.

The Bulldogs defense helped pave the way for an 18-6 lead at the end of the first, and that only grew in the second quarter as the trends on both sides of the floor continued.

Brannon Hudson led the way for six different scorers as Montevallo extended its lead to 33-13 at halftime.

That 20-point cushion proved crucial when the Panthers came surging back in the third quarter. Cody and Justin Chapman scored 19 of PCA’s 23 third-quarter points, outscoring the Bulldogs by 10 despite six more points from Hudson to get him into double figures.

As a result, Montevallo’s lead shrank to 43-36 going into the fourth quarter and left the Bulldogs in need of a response.

That came in the form of an improved defensive effort as Montevallo allowed just four points in the fourth quarter compared to 23 in the third. The Bulldogs capitalized on the other end of the floor to extend the lead with Cutts leading the charge, sealing the 17-point victory.

Hudson and Cutts tied for a team-high 14 points while Hudson added nine rebounds and four steals and Cutts earned five rebounds, five steals and three blocks.

Russell scored nine points and finished with three rebounds and three steals. Ross nearly secured a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds to go with five rebounds and five steals. All nine Bulldogs finished the game with at least one basket from the field.

Montevallo enters 2025 with a 10-9 record and 0-1 mark in Class 5A, Area 5 play. The Bulldogs are in the midst of a two-and-a-half week break before resuming area play on Thursday, Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. against the Demopolis Tigers at Montevallo High School.