Danny Fish likes to say his team wins or learns every time it steps on the court. The Pioneers seemed to take the hard lessons from opening night out on Notre Dame Thursday.

Two days after getting off to a disappointing start against Walker Valley, Warren County was enjoying the thrill of victory over the Fightin' Irish. The Pioneers won 51-47, evening their record at 1-1 after a tough first week on the road.

Keyton Reno showed up big with 15 points and nine rebounds while junior Devin Fish battled foul trouble to net 13 points as Warren County looked completely different from the same squad that fell by 33 against the Mustangs last Tuesday. The Pioneers were able to hang tough through the first half and pull away late in the second half, showing the poise and tantalizing potential that had people picking the Pioneers as a dark horse a district championship this season.

Warren County never led in the first half, but Canaan Parris gave the team a huge boost when he banked in a 3-pointer with 26.5 seconds left before halftime to send his team to the locker room down 24-22.

Big center Chance Whitlock gave the Pioneers their first lead with a tough bucket in the paint midway through the third quarter and six straight paint points by Reno for the Pioneers late in the period had the group ahead 37-34 going into the fourth.

Steals and layups by Fish and Aaron Templeton pushed the Pioneer lead to nine midway through the fourth, but Warren County still had to withstand late rallies by the Irish.

Notre Dame got within two with 2:35 to play with a steal and slam and got two looks from deep to take the lead on the next two possessions, but both shots missed the mark.

Fish helped seal the game with a huge defensive play, deflecting an outlet pass in front of the Pioneer bench when Notre Dame thought it had a fast-break chance. Fish was able to chase down the loose ball and lay it in while being fouled with 38.7 seconds to play.

The three-point play put the Pioneers up 49-43, but the Fightin' Irish had one final swing. A four-point play got the home team within two one final time, but Reno connected on an easy layup on the press break in the final 15 seconds to seal victory.

Warren County will look to pick up a rivalry win Tuesday when it takes on White County at the Dalt. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

WC scoring - Reno 15, Fish 13, Deashawn Adams 10, Templeton 5, Parris 3, Corban Felton 3, Whitlock 2