CLINTON – In a battle of a statewide poll’s preseason number two and number three teams, the Natchez Bulldogs defeated the Clinton Arrows in a squeaker, 49-48 Monday night here in the Division 4-5A opener for both teams.

&uot;It was a war,&uot; said Bulldogs head coach Mike Martin. &uot;It came down to the last possession.&uot;

Chris Logan led Natchez with 15 points and Vasshun Newborne was one of two Bulldogs to have a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Natchez (10-2, 1-0) trailed by five points in the fourth quarter before rallying to win.

&uot;We made some mistakes, but they hung tough. Clinton has some good size,&uot; Martin said. &uot;We played good defensively.&uot;

Clinton had the ball twice underneath its own basket in the last five seconds of the game, but was unable to do anything.

Natchez’s Je’Kel Foster, who finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds, stole the inbounds pass to give the Bulldogs the huge victory.

&uot;Burton Broudy hit two free throws in the fourth quarter. Vasshun made a lay-up and Je’Kel got the steal,&uot; Martin said.

Broudy finished with 10 points.

Logan hit four three-pointers in the first half as the Bulldogs and the Arrows battled to a 28-28 score at halftime.

&uot;I was being left open,&uot; Logan said. &uot;They just told me to shoot it when I was open. I had a bad game against Lanier (only two points in the 64-52 loss last Friday). I didn’t want to have two straight bad games.&uot;

Logan had a chance to seal the game for the Bulldogs, but missed two free throws with 40 seconds left to give the Arrows a chance to win the game – a chance that came up short.

&uot;Je’Kel got the steal to seal the game,&uot; Logan said. &uot;It was a battle.&uot;

Jarekus Singleton led Clinton with 17 points and Darren Knox added 10 points.

In the varsity girls game, the Lady Bulldogs broke a 33-all score at the half with a 24-point third quarter to take a 69-63 win over the Lady Arrows.

The Lady Bulldogs also improved to 10-2 overall and 1-0 in Division 4-5A play.

Natchez High hosts the Natchez High Hoops Classic this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.