HITCHCOCK — The Bulldogs let out a collective sigh of relief after a close call in their season opener Monday.
Splendora cut Hitchcock’s comfortable 12-point halftime lead to four early in the fourth quarter, but Davon Kenney scored six straight points, and Hitchcock hit 11 free throws down the stretch to pull out a 68-55 victory.
“It was a lot closer than I would have liked down at the end,” Bulldogs coach Steve Adamson said. “But there were some positives, and I’ll definitely take it. It’s good to get that first one on your home floor.
Clinging to a 47-43 lead, Kenney picked off a Splendora pass. He drove coast-to-coast for a layup.
Kenney then hit a pair of free throws followed by another driving layup to put the Bulldogs up by 11. The lefty finished with 21 points, 10 scored in the fourth quarter.
“I think in order to win, you always need somebody to step up,” Kenney said. “I just was the guy today, fortunately. Hopefully, we can all take turns.”
Hitchcock (1-0) led by double digits through most of the first three quarters. The Bulldogs pressure defense forced 16 turnovers in the first three quarters.
Splendora, though, finally started to break the press. The Wildcats spread out Hitchcock and then attacked the paint, taking advantage of the Bulldogs’ lack of height.
At one point, Splendora scored eight straight points in the paint. The Wildcats finished with 38 for the whole game.
“The defense was nowhere near good enough,” Adamson said.
To the Bulldogs credit, they were playing with several new faces. At least five football players joined the team for the first time Monday morning. They went through a brief walk-through before playing at noon.
“The matchup press is hard to learn quickly,” Adamson said. “It’s all about positioning and knowing where the other guy is going to be. That confusion led to a lot of easy points.”
Hitchcock switched to zone midway through the fourth quarter, and it worked. Splendora scored just seven points in the final five minutes.
“I don’t like to go zone, but I felt we had to,” Adamson said.
Devante Provost, fresh from the football field, made a major impact with 17 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Bryan Smith also had a solid game with six points and a couple of steals.
Along with Kenney, it all gave No. 21 Hitchcock its first win against a Class 3A team.
“It’s always good to get that first one out of the way, no matter how it looks,” Kenney said. “We’ll take it and just get better.”
