The Bulldogs jumped ahead early, but after trailing 10-7, the Falcons ended the first quarter with an 11-0 spurt. Then the Falcons outscored the Bulldogs 38-21 in the middle two quarters to build a 25-point lead at 56-31 entering the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs managed their highest output against ACGC's reserves in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit with a 21-13 advantage in the last eight minutes.
The Falcons outrebounded Paynesville 25-21, and the Falcons got easier looks at the basket and made more of their shots. ACGC was 24 of 53 from the floor to Paynesville's 21 of 48. ACGC made six treys, while the Bulldogs missed all seven of their three-point attempts.
The Falcons also outscored the Bulldogs from the free throw line, 15 to 10.
The Falcons had balanced scoring with five players having nine points or more, and ten players in their scoring column. Junior guard Jesse Hutchinson had nine assists for ACGC.
Paynesville had six players score, led by J.T. Koehn and Ryan Wall with 13. Luke Trees added ten, and T.J. Schultz had eight.
The Bulldogs' game at Melrose on Friday was postponed to Saturday, March 4. The B- and C-squads were tentatively scheduled to play at 1:30 p.m. with the varsity following.
Last night, the Bulldogs played their final home game of the year against Albany.
The Bulldogs were seeded seventh in District 19 and will play at second-seeded Annandale again on Thursday, March 9, at 7:30 p.m. The Bulldogs lost a nonconference game at Annandale in January 97-69.
| Paynesville-- | 10 | 10 | 11 | 21 | - 52 |
| ACGC-- | 18 | 17 | 21 | 13 | - 69 |