By SAM STAFF/Sports Writer

VANCLEAVE — The Vancleave’s boys’ basketball team has managed just four wins this season.
However, three of them have come in Region 4-5A play for the Bulldogs.
Vancleave completed a season series sweep of arch-rival East Central Tuesday night with a 68-42 thumping of the Hornets. The Bulldogs are now 4-18 overall but sit in fourth place in the region race at 3-5.
Tuesday’s win over the Hornets came on the heels of a 63-40 decision for VHS in Hurley five weeks ago.

The two teams battled on a back and forth basis for the most part in the first quarter, as Bulldog Bradyn Woodworth scored seven points including an old fashioned three point play and his teammate Brantley Thompson added five points including a 3-pointer and the Bulldogs led 16-11 entering the second stanza despite the Hornets getting a 3-pointer apiece from A.J. Hopkins and Trey Maryland.
The Bulldogs began to slowly take control of the contest in the second stanza as Thompson again had five points as well as his second trey of the game and VHS also got a triple apiece from Dane McElroy and Maddox Henley to head into halftime ahead up by double digits at 33-21.

It was more of the same for Vancleave in the third frame, as Woodworth and Daylan Moore each dropped in seven points apiece as the Bulldogs continued to extend their lead and cruised into the final period up 51-34.
Just for good measure, Elijah Smith scored six points for VHS down the stretch as the home team cruised to the comfortable win.

The Bulldogs got a game-high 14 points from Woodworth, 12 points from Smith and nine points apiece from both Moore and McElroy in the balanced scoring attack in the winning effort.
Hopkins 12 led the Hornets with 12 points and Maryland finished with nine points for the Hornets as ECHS drops to 3-14 overall and 0-7 in league play.