The home crowd at Charlie Dalton Gym threw toilet paper on the floor after the Pioneers' first made basket Tuesday night.
It would have been more appropriate to throw bandages for the physical game that awaited.
Warren County scored the last six points to wrestle the lead away from Cannon County in the final 1:38 as the Pioneers won their home opener, 60-55.
"Good basketball teams win games like this on their home floor," said WCHS coach Chris Sullens. "When you're at home, you don't care if it's good, bad or ugly, you just want to win and we did that tonight. We came out and we battled. I'm really pleased with the effort we had tonight. I think this is as many people as I've ever seen here for opening night and I appreciate all the fans. I think we really fed off their energy."
Holden Baker and Trevor Gaines led the Pioneers with 13 points each, while Joelah Solomon scored 10 and had a big game on the boards. Warren County outrebounded the Lions 53-32.
For Cannon County, sharp-shooter Briar Jakes was the game-high scorer with 26. He finished with five 3-pointers, including one he launched from what seemed like the moon.
The game came down to the final minutes as Jakes gave Cannon County a 53-50 lead midway through the fourth when he buried a deep 3-pointer. Isaiah Grayson would respond with a driving layup for the Pioneers to cut the deficit to one point, 53-52.
Gaines gave Warren County the lead at the 2:30 mark when he established inside position and banked home a short jumper after catching the entry pass, 54-53.
Cannon County post Austin Martin immediately answered with a bucket and the Lions were back on top 55-54, but that would be their last score of the game.
Solomon gave the Pioneers the lead for good when he drove the middle and pulled up for a 12-footer. That put Warren County ahead 56-55 with 1:38 remaining.
Isaac Golden followed with one of his biggest plays of the night when he stripped Cannon County point guard Charlie Parrish of the ball near midcourt. Parrish dove in a last-gasp effort to maintain possession which allowed Golden to waltz to the rim for an uncontested layup after he secured the ball, 58-55.
The Lions tried to get the ball to Jakes for a tying 3-pointer, but the Pioneers were not about to let him launch a shot. Warren County extended its perimeter defense and Jakes inadvertently stepped out of bounds after catching a pass for a turnover with :22 left.
Forced to foul, Golden came up big yet again when he was the player Cannon County sent to the line. He drained both ends of a one-and-one with :15 left to put the Pioneers ahead 60-55. That would hold as the final score.
With the physical game, fouls would play a key factor. Cannon County was able to take a 36-31 lead at halftime largely due to free-throw shooting.
The Pioneers were whistled for 14 team fouls which allowed Cannon County to shoot 12-of-19 from the line. However, the Lions only attempted four foul shots in the second half.
"We changed around our defense and that played a huge role when they weren't shooting foul shots," said coach Sullens.
Cannon County post Austin Martin proved a handful for Warren County inside and finished with 19 points. He was as big as both Pioneer posts, Gaines and Krojhn Calbert, and  was able to get both of them in early foul trouble.
The Pioneers (3-2) are scheduled to play in a Thanksgiving Classic on Friday and Saturday in Woodbury.
Warren County's next home game is set for Tuesday against DeKalb County. It will be the first of three straight home games for the Pioneers.
Warren County -- Holden Baker 13, Trevor Gaines 13, Joelah Solomon 10, Isaac Golden 7, Isaiah Grayson 7, Krojhn Calbert 6, Alex Yates 4
Cannon County -- Briar Jakes 26, Austin Martin 19, Charlie Parrish 5, Austin Duggin 3, Cole George 2