Warren County was able to force overtime with a rally in the final :38 of regulation, but the Pioneer freshmen boys came up just short against Tullahoma on Monday night.
The Pioneers had the ball with a chance to win or tie with :08 left in OT, but they couldn’t manage a quality shot. Tullahoma came into McMinnville and prevailed, 56-54, at Charlie Dalton Gym.
Isaiah Cummings led Warren County with a game-high 25 points. He scored on mid-range jumpers, drives to the basket, and even showed his range by stepping outside and draining two 3-pointers.
Pioneer Baler Melton provided energy from the post and hit the tying layup to force overtime. Melton finished with 10 points and flashed great effort by diving head first to save a ball from rolling out of bounds.
The largest lead of the game was 6 points and that was held by the Pioneers early in the second quarter, 20-14. Tullahoma would rally to score 7 straight and take a 21-20 lead. The teams would punch it out the rest of the way.
Warren County looked unsteady on its feet late in the third quarter when the Pioneers couldn’t stop turning over the ball. A late Tullahoma 3-pointer gave the Wildcats a 42-38 lead entering the fourth.
Tullahoma capitalized on back-to-back Pioneer errors to build a 49-45 lead in the final minute of regulation. Tullahoma turned a steal into an uncontested layup, then broke the Warren County press for another breakaway bucket and the lead was 4 points.
Cummings answered with a floater in the lane, 49-47, and then point guard Treyton Terry created a play with the game on the line. Terry muscled his way into the paint against fierce defense, then somehow found Melton open under the basket for a layup as time expired, 49-49.
One of the game’s most crucial plays came with the score knotted at 53-53 and the Pioneers trying to inbound the ball near halfcourt with :27 left in OT. Warren County tried to throw the ball into the backcourt to get some relief from Tullahoma’s relentless ball pressure, but the Wildcat defender was the faster player to the ball. He caught the inbounds pass instead and raced ahead for a layup, 55-53.
After each team made a foul shot, 56-54, Warren County had the ball and called timeout with :08 left.
The Pioneers made a couple perimeter passes before realizing time was about to expire and a 3-pointer was off the mark as the buzzer sounded.

WARREN COUNTY SCORING
Isaiah Cummings 25, Baler Melton 10, Treyton Terry 7, Alex van Vuuren 5, Jonathan Lara 3, Dylan Stepp 2, Brett Cantrell 2

TULLAHOMA TOP SCORERS
Hill 15, Kimmons 14