The WCHS Pioneer basketball team won at home against Cannon County on Tuesday night, 48-41.
Don’t let the seven-point differential fool you. The Pioneers were in jeopardy of losing their lead late in the game. It was drastic enough for WCHS head coach Chris Sullens to say, “We lack a killer instinct.”
The Pioneers saw their 11-point lead at the end of the third quarter reduced to three points with about 3:30 left in final quarter. Warren County responded and stretched its lead to six points, but Cannon County persisted to close the lead to four points with only 56 seconds left. The score was suddenly 45-41 and fragile.
The lead stretched from four to seven points in the last minute because Cannon County started fouling to regain possession of the basketball. In the final 56 seconds, C.J. Taylor went to the foul line three times, and made three free throws to increase the lead to 48-41. Disaster was averted.
One metric of how the game changed from beginning to end is Cannon County’s scoring by quarters. In the first quarter, Cannon County scored only five points. Warren County scored 15 in the opening quarter for a 10-point lead.
In the fourth quarter, Cannon County scored 17 points, and Warren County scored only 13. Warren County could not put the game out of reach in the final minutes.
After talking to his team, coach Sullens shared some thoughts about the game. Sullens said, “We didn’t play our best basketball. We have a lot of kids who gave a lot of effort. We have to figure out a rotation. That is something we have to do a better job of as a staff. We have to know the guys we can put out there and trust. It is a work in progress. We’re 3-1 going into the holiday weekend. I am proud of our guys. We got two wins in the past two nights. You cannot complain about that.”
The top scorer for Warren County was Dee Spates with 18 points. C.J. Taylor was next with 14 points.
The top scorer for Cannon County was Gus Dayenport with 15 points. Lavell Rogers and Colton Kennamer both contributed nine points each for Cannon County.
Warren County travels to Manchester on Monday for a big test against the Red Raiders of Coffee County Central High School. It will be the first road game of the season for the Pioneers.
Boys
WARREN COUNTY 48
CANNON COUNTY 41
Warren County
Scoring
Dee Spates 18, C.J. Taylor 14, Aiden Cummings 9, Kaden Rutledge 5, Dante Elam 2.
