By Bart Moss

For the FCT

The Belgreen Bulldogs’ (28-4) great run this season came to an end in the finals of the Northwest Regional tournament Friday night at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville.

The Bulldogs fell to the Parrish Tornados 62-37.

“I’m so proud of what this team has accomplished,” Belgreen coach Patrick Odom said.

“They bought into what we were trying to do this year and they took it to another level. These seniors have set the standard for these young guys coming up. They are competitors and they have a great work ethic.”

The Bulldogs were a team that had relied on tremendous perimeter shooting all season long. The size, speed and athleticism of Parrish, however, was just too much for the Bulldogs to overcome.

The usually hot-shooting Bulldogs shot only 24 percent from the field and managed to hit only six of 33 three-point shots.

The shooting woes carried over to the free throw line as well where the Bulldogs were three of 10.

“We just couldn’t get the shots to fall tonight,” Odom said.

“They usually had a hand in our face and when that happens it makes those shots more difficult.

“They were really tough inside. It was hard to get a shot over [Labarrius Hill]. He’s a tall, athletic guy and dominated the paint. The size, quickness and overall athleticism eventually wore us out.”

The typically hot-shooting Chase Landers was held to just four points on the night and credited Parrish’s defense.

“It was rough,” Landers said. “They were all over me all night. I tried to shoot my way out of it but the shots just wouldn’t fall.”

Parrish only led by three at the end of the third quarter, 11-8. After the first quarter, however, it was all the Tornados. Parrish outscored Belgreen 39-23 through the second and third quarters.

Dustin Smith led Belgreen with 20 points. Other Bulldogs scoring were Will Barnwell (5), Chase Landers (4), Ben Inman (4), and Josh Devaney (4).

Seniors Chase Landers and Dustin Smith were named to the all-tournament team.