The turn of the calendar has been very kind to the Warren County Middle School boys basketball team.
Playing their second game in 2012 on Monday night, the Pioneers defeated Van Buren County on the road 44-24 to improve to 8-3 this season.
The 20-point victory was the second straight blowout win for Warren County as the team beat Franklin South Middle School 39-17 last week at home.
In Monday’s win over Van Buren County, point guard A.D. Majors and wing Darius Wright led the way.
Majors scored a season-high 15 points while Wright was next in line with 12 to help Warren County overwhelm Van Buren County.
The scoring was slow in the first quarter as both teams relied on their defense to keep the game close. Warren County was able to get some breathing room when Isaac Golden knocked in a 3-pointer and Majors and Brendan Breedlove each scored from the field to make it 7-2 after the first quarter.
Majors started to heat up in the second quarter as he made the team’s second 3-pointer and added a layup as the Pioneers started to put some distance between them and the home team on the scoreboard.
Wright added three points in the period as he made a driving layup and knocked down a free throw. Warren County narrowly missed taking a double-digit lead into halftime as the team led 17-8 at the break.
Wright made sure in the third quarter Warren County could rest easy for most of the second half.
Wright exploded for seven points in the third quarter, capped off by a three-point play where Wright was able to score at the rim while being fouled on his shot.
Another 3-pointer from Golden and a basket from Rickie King put Warren County ahead 29-16 entering the final six minutes.
Majors had to set up at the free-throw line in the final quarter to protect the Pioneer lead. Majors hit 4-of-4 from the charity stripe in the final period and added two made jumpers as Warren County pulled away for its second straight win to begin 2012.
Rounding out the scoring for Warren County was Golden with six, Breedlove with five and King, Jack Davidson and Reed Garrison with two points apiece.
While the boys team has been successful in the new year, the Lady Pioneers haven’t been as fortunate.
The Lady Pioneers lost their second straight game after beginning the season 6-3 as the team fell to Van Buren County 47-24.
Karagan Turner led Warren County with 10 points. Allison Hitchcock finished with eight points, followed by Livia Walker with four and Madison Mason with two.
Warren County returns to the court tomorrow night with away games at Tullahoma West Middle School. Games begin at 6 p.m.