In the second game of Thursday night’s Homecoming doubleheader, the Santa Fe Wildcats finished off the regular season series with a 69-58 win at Cornersville.

The Bulldogs lost 64-43 at Santa Fe on December 20, 2019.

The Wildcats were led by three players in double figures with Andy Slaughter leading the way with 19 points, Jeremy Dotson added 17, and Colton Steward tossed in 11.

Michael Ashley led the way for Cornersville with 11 points, including three 3-pointers.

“We got bullied on the boards tonight and we’ve got to find a way to get better at that,” Cornersville coach Peyton Newton said. “They did some things on defense that we hadn’t seen before, they guarded our guards’ ball hand when we would drive, and we didn’t handle it well.”

The tip was controlled by Cornersville, but a missed shot gave the ball back to Santa Fe where Slaughter drilled a basket and the Wildcats led 2-0.

Colton Steward added a basket and a free throw and Dotson sank a jump shot before Cornersville’s Mason Calahan drilled a 3-pointer to make the score 7-3.

Logan Wilkins and Dotson added baskets for the Wildcats to up the lead to eight points at 11-3.

Jackson Mitchell broke the scoring drought for Cornersville before Slaughter and Steward scored on back-to back possessions, pushing the lead to 15-5.

Khi Canty made the score 15-7 on a nice drive for the Bulldogs, but 3-point baskets on consecutive possessions by Dotson and Slaughter pushed the Wildcat lead to 21-7.

Bryce Woodard’s 3-pointer rounded out the scoring for the Bulldogs in the quarter with Santa Fe leading 21-10.

Wilkens opened the second quarter with a basket to make the score 23-10.

Dotson hit a 3-pointer before Cornersville reeled off an eight-point run with a 3-pointer by Woodard, a free throw by Canty, and two baskets by Eli Welch to make the score 26-18.

The Wildcats answered with a 10-point run and the lead ballooned to 36-18 before Ashley lofted in a 3-pointer for Cornersville to make the score 36-21 at halftime.

The Bulldogs, coming off a loss to Cascade on Tuesday night, had shown a physical and aggressive nature against the Champions, but that same element was missing on Thursday night.

Errant passes and lackadaisical play inside plagued the team against a taller and more experienced squad from Santa Fe.

Gamely the Bulldogs played on, but the deficit grew to 21 points by the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter Newton played the substitutes, as did the Wildcats.

The younger players showed more hustle and drive than had appeared earlier by the starters.

The starting lineup for the Bulldogs included three freshmen, a sophomore, and one senior, Mitchell.

As the season rolls on these young players are being forced to grow up quickly.

Santa Fe 21 15 20 12 – 69

Cornersville 10 11 17 11 - 58

Santa Fe (69) Andy Slaughter 19, Jeremy Dotson 17, Colton Steward 11, Tanner Bryan 8, Logan Wilkins 6, Sammy Caudle 4, Landon Evans 2, Austin Hazlett 2.

3-Point Goals (5): Dotson 3, Slaughter 2.

Free Throws (11-for-18): Wilkens 1-for-3, Steward 3-for-4, Slaughter 1-for-2, Bryan 2-for-2, Evans 2-for-2, Hazlett 2-for-5.

Cornersville (58): Michael Ashley 11, Eli Welch 9, Bryce Woodard 9, Mason Callahan 6, Andrew Santini 6, Skyler Davis 3, Brady Calahan 3, Khi Canty 3, Jackson Mitchell 2, Michael Bungay 2, Christian Wilson 2, Tanner Reese 1, Wallace Francis 1.

Three-Point Goals (11): Ashley 3, Woodard 3, Calahan 2, Santini 2, Davis.

Free Throws (5-for-17): Francis 1-for-4, Reese 1-for-4, Welch 1-for-2, Canty 1-for-2, Wilson 0-for-2, B. Calahan 1-for-3.

Halftime Score: Santa Fe 36, Cornersville 21.