Isaiah Grayson and the rest of the Warren County offense rattled DeKalb County’s cage in a third-quarter offensive assault Tuesday night at Charlie Dalton Gym.
Warren County unloaded an arsenal of shots from every possible angle in pulling away from the Tigers for a 60-46 victory.
Pioneer head coach Chris Sullens said, “We have lost seven straight games to DeKalb dating back three or four years. We haven’t beaten them twice in the same year in 12 years. We have to be a team that understands these type things and realize no game is a walk through.”
The win improves Warren County to 2-0 at home and evens the team’s overall record to 4-4.
Grayson came out hot in the third quarter and it was clear he wanted the ball. He dropped 15 of his game-high 29 points in the third and it looked as though he was not going to miss as he was accurate from all over the court and even drained a shot at the third-quarter buzzer.
Gentry Harpole led DeKalb County with 17 points.
It was obvious the Pioneers wanted to make a statement in the second half and DeKalb County was not ready. The Pioneers pushed the tempo and forced DeKalb County to try and keep up. Warren County outscored DeKalb in the third 24-5 and by the end of the third the Pioneer lead was 21 points.
Isaac Golden ran the Pioneer offense and worked the ball to his teammates. The ball went inside and back out with ease. Once the defense collapsed, the ball was kicked back out and Holden Baker dialed up from long distance and connected from beyond the arch.
The outside shooting stretched the Tiger defense and Trevor Gaines went to work down in the low post. Gaines’ efforts inside paid off and he added six points to help Warren County extend its lead.
Grayson drove the lane and scored. He shot pull-up jumpers and just when you thought you had seen everything, he fired a shot from behind the 3-point line at the buzzer and hit his target to end the quarter with all the momentum. The Warren County faithful erupted.
After the brilliant third quarter by Warren County, many of the players took a seat on the bench for a well-deserved rest. DeKalb County knocked down a pair of 3-point shots from Marshall Evins and Seth Wright. Even though the Tigers looked better in the fourth, the large lead was too much to overcome and the Pioneers held on and took a 60-46 win over DeKalb County.
Warren County struck first on a pair of shots inside by Joelah Solomon and Grayson. DeKalb County answered with a 3-point shot by Gentry.
DeKalb County survived the first quarter and trailed 14-11. Chance Hobbs buried a 3-point shot and Grayson scored eight of his 29 in the first quarter.
The Tigers clawed their way back into the game and just minutes into the second quarter DeKalb County was within one, 16-15, after a second 3-pointer dropped for Gentry and it was as close as the Tigers would get.
Chance Hobbs and Baker combined for 13 points in the second quarter. The pair of sharp-shooters each knocked down shots from beyond the arch before the half.
Coach Sullens motivated his team in the locker room and the Pioneers dominated the second half. It was all Warren County after halftime and there was little DeKalb County could do.
Sullens added, “I thought we played well and made some adjustments at the half to help us with a 24-7 third quarter. We play well in spurts and need to bring that up to a full 32 minutes. It is one game, one win, and we move on to the next one. It will be a huge test for us.”
The Pioneers play the Jets from Cumberland County tonight at Charlie Dalton Gym. The boys game follows the Lady Pioneers and that game is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Pioneer scoring – Isaiah Grayson 29, Holden Baker 10, Chance Hobbs 10, Trevor Gaines 6, Joelah Solomon 2, Caleb Newby 2, Lucas Patrick 1
Tiger scoring – Gentry Harpole 17, Marshal Evins 11, Seth Wright 8, Trey Jones 5, Austin Johnson 2, Noah Parsley 2, Tanner Poss 1