After enduring an 18-day layoff, the Cornersville Bulldogs had trouble knocking the rust off on Tuesday evening, as they were unable to overcome a dismal second quarter performance en route to suffering a 55-33 loss at the hands of the Richland Raiders in Lynnville.

The Bulldogs actually held an early 5-0 lead thanks to a layup by Tate Lowery and a Brian Lowe three-pointer before Richland (5-4, 2-1 District) rattled off seven straight points to seize a 7-5 advantage late in the first quarter.

Raiders roll

Cornersville (1-4, 0-1 District) then tied the game at 7-7 at the end first period with the help of free throws from David Looney and Wes Meadows, but the wheels fell off for CHS in the second quarter, as the Raiders outscored the Bulldogs 25-0 in the stanza to forge a 32-7 lead at halftime.

Richland then opened up a 35-7 advantage early in the third before Cornersville finally got their offense on track and closed the quarter with a 14-9 run behind five points from Lowe and a pair of treys from Meadows and Michael Allen to narrow the gap to 44-23.

After the Raiders stretched their lead to 46-23 at the start of the fourth, the Bulldogs outscored Richland 10-9 the rest of the way on the strength of five points from Crowell and a Zack Smith three for the 55-33 final.

Layoff hurt

"I think the layoff hurt us considerably. We've tried to simulate game like conditions during practice, but you can't simulate an actual game. We came out with a lot of energy, but I think we got a little gassed in the second quarter because we haven't played in awhile," said CHS coach Gerard Randolph.

Although the Bulldogs committed only 13 turnovers, Cornersville mustered just 11 field goals on 21 percent shooting, which included a 5-of-21 effort from three-point range.

Lowe led CHS with eight points and Meadows added six points. Jamie Crowell also tallied five points and grabbed a game high 11 rebounds, while Tyler Lowery, Smith, and Allen notched three points apiece. Looney and Tate Lowery chipped in two points each for the Bulldogs as well and Cody Caneer had one point.

Good play

"I was pleased with how Jamie Crowell played. This was only the second game he's played and he's slowly getting his groove back. He's going to help us this season," said Randolph.

The Raiders finished with 18 field goals on 37 percent shooting, highlighted by a 10-of-16 effort in the second quarter, and knocked down 5-of-16 attempts from beyond the arc. Richland also outrebounded Cornersville 39-34 and held an 11-10 edge on the offensive glass while committing only 10 turnovers.

Farrar paced the Raiders with 12 points and Donnie Gavin tallied 10 points. Chandler Rose and Conner Perkins added eight and five points for Richland as well, while Carter Schmidt and Hayden Morris both had four points.