The Cornersville Bulldogs got carved up by a razor sharp Fayetteville team on Tuesday night, as they suffered a 73-42 home loss at the hands of the Tigers in their season opener.

Fayetteville got off to a red hot start offensively and built a 44-23 lead in the first half before outscoring CHS 29-19 over the final two quarters to cruise to their fifth straight victory over Cornersville.

Fast pace

The Tigers pushed the pace of the game throughout the night and finished with 30 field goals on 47 percent shooting despite hitting only 6-of-27 three-point attempts. Fayetteville also controlled the boards and outrebounded the Bulldogs 36-15 while holding a 17-2 edge on the offensive glass.

"They just had too much firepower for us," said CHS coach Gerard Randolph. "I knew coming in they would want to push the tempo and make us play fast. They're a good team and good at what they do."

Sophomore guard Nicholas Hopkins was a one-man wrecking crew for the Tigers, as he scored a career high 40 points on 16-of-25 shooting to go along with nine rebounds and six steals. Aaron Parks followed Hopkins with 15 points, while James Keith and Michael Parks notched 12 and 6 points respectively.

The Bulldogs shot 49 percent (18-of-37) from the floor overall, which included a 2-of-6 effort from beyond the arc, but were hamstrung by 22 turnovers.

Bulldog leader

Junior point guard Tate Lowery knocked down 9-of-14 field goal attempts and led Cornersville with 20 points. David Looney and Tyler Lowery tallied seven points apiece as well, while Michael Allen added five points. Ben Taylor and Hunter Swinney rounded out the scoring for CHS with two and one point respectively.

"Tate did really well and I was pleased with how he got to the basket. I was happy that he played aggressively," said Randolph.

The Bulldogs grabbed an early 2-0 lead on an offensive put back by Tate Lowery, but Fayetteville quickly took control of the game by rattling off 15 straight points to seize a 15-2 advantage late in the first quarter.

After Tate Lowery and Tyler Lowery sandwiched a layup and a jumper around a Hopkins trey to trim the deficit to 18-6 with 1:17 left in the first period, Fayetteville answered with a 21-10 spurt to push their lead to 39-16 late in the second period.

Short streak

The Bulldogs narrowed the gap to 41-23 with the help of an Allen trey and a pair of baskets by Tate Lowery, before Hopkins buried a three as time expired in the half to give the Tigers a 44-23 advantage at intermission.

Fayetteville continued to pour it on at the start of the second half and tallied the first nine points of the third quarter to forge a 53-23 lead.

Cornersville put together an 11-4 run behind six points from Tate Lowery to cut the deficit to 57-34 early in the fourth period, but the Tigers outscored CHS 16-6 over the next 6:20 to open up a 73-40 cushion before claiming the 73-42 win.