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NEDERLAND — After starting 4-0 in district play, the Nederland Bulldogs are off to a hot start, knocking off Goose Creek Memorial, Crosby, Memorial and Baytown Lee in the first round of meetings.

The Bulldogs defeated the Titans Tuesday night, 47-34. Nederland is taking the court again Friday on the road against Barbers Hill.

“The district is really balanced this year,” Nederland Head Coach Brian English said. “It seems like a situation where I think the top team can lose to the bottom team, and teams in the middle can lose to each other. It is very competitive right now.”

The Bulldogs are now 17-6 on the season. The coach said his team’s chemistry has improved the most since the start of the season.

“They have really come together,” he said. “We knew we had a chance to be pretty good. We didn’t have much experience last year. Now, with a year of experience under everyone’s belt — we returned everyone but one — that helped us. We learned how to play together.”

The Bulldogs have leaned on senior point guard Maurice Holmes for leadership, the coach said.

“Jayden Davis is playing really well for us on the court,” English said. “He is a big kid at about 6’6.” He has played a big role for us.”

Davis is averaging approximately 18 points-per-game for the black and gold.

While the Bulldogs have been rolling, the coach said there are some areas the team can improve on if it wants to continue to have district success as the competition heats up.

“We can improve our shot selection,” English said. “We have to cut down on turnovers. We could improve a lot if we take care of those two categories. We are OK with them at times. We sometimes revert back to where we were last year. It has been good so far, though.”

Nederland hasn’t had to shake off too much rust from the holiday break as the Bulldogs competed in the New Caney tournament. The team made it to the championship game, where the Bulldogs fell 62-48 to Fort Bend Travis.

“We played well and had our chances in that game,” English said. “We just didn’t get it done. I think they are doing a good job taking it one game at a time right now like you are supposed to. I see a difference in maturity this year, more than anything.”

The Bulldogs’ next home game is against rival Port Neches-Groves on Jan. 19.