ST. PAULS — For St. Pauls’ Bradley Gooden and Jamal Cassidy, just their participation in Tuesday’s senior night game against Fairmont was, for different reasons, noteworthy.

But the pair bookended the game with 3-point baskets, with a raucous blackout crowd roaring in approval for both. And as meaningful as those baskets were, they were also indicative of what happened in the 32 minutes between, as the Bulldogs dominated Fairmont 77-31 to clinch the Southeastern Athletic Conference regular-season title.

“For them, it’ll probably be a night they’ll remember for the rest of their lives — but I’ll also remember this night too for the rest of my life,” St. Pauls coach Corey Thompson said. “Just that opportunity, because those guys mean a lot to our program.”

Gooden, a senior center, hasn’t played since Dec. 18 — but wouldn’t let a still-recovering broken foot keep him from playing, at least for a moment, on his senior night. Gooden was part of the all-senior starting five, gingerly jogged around the floor for the game’s first possession. Teammates passed him the ball and he pulled up from the right wing — nothing but net.

“I told Coach Thompson, just let me get in, get a shot and get out,” said Gooden, who came out of the game immediately after the basket. “The Lord let me hit that shot — I can’t shoot that far, so it was nothing but the Lord.”

Cassidy, a team manager playing in his first varsity game, entered in the fourth quarter after the Bulldogs had the game in hand. Teammates passed him the ball for a few 3-point attempts from the corner; with a minute remaining on the running clock, he connected.

“It made me feel good,” Cassidy said. “It’s something I’ve never done before. I’m glad to get an opportunity.”

In between the triples by Gooden and Cassidy, two other seniors starred to lead St. Pauls (16-5, 11-0 Southeastern) to victory. Josh Henderson scored 21 points and Jeyvian Tatum had 17 for the Bulldogs.

Both Tatum and Henderson hit first-quarter 3-pointers; Tatum’s completed a 15-3 run with 1:02 left in the quarter and Henderson’s gave St. Pauls an 18-5 lead at the end of the period.

“Coach told us from the beginning, just play hard, come out with intensity. Come out and throw the first punch and stay on them, and that’s what we did,” Henderson said. “It’s my last home game, and I just went out there and gave it my all, played my heart out.”

Cameron Revels hit a 3 on the Bulldogs’ first second-quarter possession, and St. Pauls increased the lead to 29-7 with 5:16 left in the half; St. Pauls led 37-14 at halftime.

“They came out determined to go ahead and take care of business early and they did that,” Fairmont coach Montrell McNair said. “St. Pauls is already good and motivated, and you come in and not do the little things right, and you try to sustain what they’re doing it kind of puts your fire out. You can’t spot them 15, 20 points and expect to get back in the game.”

Seniors scored 11 of the Bulldogs’ first 13 points of the third as they used a 16-0 run to start the second half to take a 52-14 lead. The lead reached the 40-point threshold for a running clock by midway through the third and St. Pauls led 72-22 by the end of the quarter.

Marcus Galbreath scored 11 points for St. Pauls, which swept the Golden Tornadoes in the season series after a 72-42 win Wednesday in Fairmont.

This is the third straight season the Bulldogs have won at least a share of a regular-season championship. They will finish the regular season Friday at Red Springs.

“It’s a team effort,” Thompson said. “After that (Robeson County) Shootout game, I told them if they stay together good things can happen. We’ve always been preaching that, and I feel like we’re playing our best basketball at this time.

John Poe scored nine points and Gabriel Washington had seven to lead Fairmont (7-11, 5-5 Southeastern), who plays Wednesday at Red Springs.

Lady Bulldogs pull away with third-quarter run

The St. Pauls girls basketball team held a 14-point halftime lead over Fairmont Tuesday, but did so after a sluggish finish to the half, going without a basket for over three minutes before the buzzer.

But the Bulldogs started the third with a big run, doubling their lead and allowing them to cruise to a 65-30 win.

“I came in at halftime and told them great teams know how to put their foot on your neck and finish it,” St. Pauls coach Mike Moses said. “I felt like with the way we ended the half we gave Fairmont some life.”

Leading 27-13 at the break, St. Pauls (20-1, 11-0 Southeastern) went on a 15-0 run over the first three minutes of the third quarter, led by two players commemorating their senior night, to take a 42-13 lead.

After 3-pointers by AuNyah Teague and Jashontae Harris on the Bulldogs’ first two second-half possessions, Tamyra Council scored a basket with three free throws during the run and Taliya Council had two baskets.

“After halftime (Moses) said we’re getting too comfortable, so we just put our foot on the gas and don’t let up,” said Tamyra Council, who scored 17 points with 14 rebounds and six blocks.

“Somebody can always come back, so Coach Moses told us to go out there and be a dog, basically, and that’s what we did,” said Taliya Council, who had 14 points and seven rebounds.

Myasia Sims scored for Fairmont (12-8, 6-4 Southeastern) to end the run, but a Tamyra Council basket and two Harris free throws made it 46-15 with 3:15 left in the third period. St. Pauls led 50-20 going to the fourth.

“They started hitting a lot of their shots, and we couldn’t execute,” Fairmont coach Marcus Thompson said. “I think our girls have to work on — there’s a lot of things that have to be done in the summer to prepare for nights like this.”

St. Pauls started the first half similarly, taking a 16-2 lead five minutes into the game led by a pair of Harris triples. The Bulldogs led 19-6 at the end of the opening stanza and held a 27-8 lead with 3:19 left in the half before they were held off the scoreboard until halftime.

Harris scored 18 points with four steals for St. Pauls. Jakieya Thompson scored 11 points with nine rebounds, eight assists and six steals; the junior guard was honored between games for recently surpassing 1,000 career points.

St. Pauls, who previously clinched the Southeastern’s regular-season title, won its ninth straight in the series against Fairmont, including a 47-19 win Wednesday in Fairmont.