Four local teams took the court at Charlie Dalton Gym on Monday night as the seventh annual Warren Lodge Masonic tournament began.The seventh- and eighth-grade Eastside boys basketball team were the only team to win as the Bulldogs beat the Covenant Lions 44-28.The Covenant Lady Lions didn’t have much success either as the team lost 38-8 to Swiss Middle School from Grundy County.Playing in the final game of the night, the Warren County Middle School junior varsity team was beaten 46-32 by Coalmont Middle School.Eastside, coming off a championship in the preseason Morrison Ruritan tournament before Christmas, looked a little rusty when taking on the Lions Monday night.The Bulldogs trailed the entire first half as Devin Terry and Taylor Madewell powered the Lion attack.Terry came out in the first quarter and scored seven points as the Lion guard was too quick for the Bulldogs.Madewell added three buckets of his own as the Lions led 13-10 after the first quarter.The offense slowed down in the second quarter as each team started to find their footing on the defensive end.Baskets by Dakota Nunley, Raliegh Woods and Jesse Jones gave Eastside a chance to take a lead into halftime, but a runner by Anthony Palmer gave Covenant an 18-16 advantage going into the locker rooms.In the third quarter, the size of Eastside became too much to overcome for the Lions.Post Hunter Hawkins took over on the offensive end while Tyler Beaty dominated on defense.Hawkins scored six points in a 9-0 run to begin the second half. Hawkins was unstoppable on the block as he was able to do whatever he wanted on the block. Hawkins even showed good touch as the big post banked in a midrange jumper during the Eastside spurt.Bulldog guard Cito Garcia added a 3-pointer as the Bulldogs built a 25-18 cushion.Helping the Bulldogs take a big advantage was Beaty’s defense.
Bulldogs beat Covenant