By Greg Sullivan
Sports Editor

The Bulldogs were neck and neck with Greenbriar for the game's entirety Saturday night in Evans but they came up just short, falling 57-56.
Bulldog Head Coach Charlemagne Gibbons said the game was unusual with four late technical fouls. Gibbons said his player C.J. Benford was kicked when he was on the ground and two Morgan County players reacted by jumping up from the bench which drew fouls against the Bulldogs.
Both teams shot technical fouls after the incident. The Dogs saw their one point lead turn into a one point deficit in a game that went back and forth following the foul shots.
"More than anything else we just missed easy baskets," Gibbons said after the narrow defeat..
But overall, he said his team played pretty hard.
"That was our best effort of the year so far," Gibbons said. "You never take consolation in a loss, but it was a step in the right direction."  
The Dogs trailed 15-14 after the first quarter Saturday. At half-time the Dogs were behind 26-22, but after a strong third quarter Morgan was on top 41-39 but couldn't hold onto the narrow lead in the final period.
C.J. Benford led the Bulldogs with 13 points despite fouling out in the second half. Roy Smith put up 11 and LaBenta Young put up 10 for the Dogs.
Friday night the Bulldogs were also in the Augusta area when they played at Butler where they also fell, but by a score of 68-49.
The team fell behind early going down 15-8 after the first quarter. They managed to play about even with Butler over the second and third periods, trailing by 10 going into the fourth. Butler pulled away late, however, making their foul shots and extending their lead.
The Dogs cut the Butler lead to just four in the fourth quarter but couldn't finish the comeback attempt.
Gibbons said his team made a lot of youthful mistakes in the game and he is looking for them to turn things around when they get more games under their belts.
"We're getting beat by the little things," he said. "We've got to pay more attention to detail."
Against Butler the Dogs were led by C.J. Benford with 14 points and Jarvis Hardy with 10.
The Dogs fall to 0-3 on the young season after the loss and the team hopes to get things on track over the next few weeks before region play begins. The team's gritty effort at Greenbriar on Saturday could be a sign of better things to come.
The team played Eastside Tuesday night and visits Jackson on Friday. The Dogs will host Butler on Saturday.