The Pioneers are officially perfect in region boys games at Charlie Dalton Gym.
A capacity crowd packed the house Saturday night to see Warren County beat Ooltewah 66-54 in the Region 3AAA quarterfinals, the first time a region game has ever been played locally.
CJ Taylor was again the catalyst to victory, scoring 29 points and grabbing 12 boards to send the Owls packing. Lacedrick ‘Red’ Cox added 15 points, while Aiden Cummings finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
It was Warren County's 20th victory, one the Pioneers controlled from the start and took care of in business-like fashion.
“We told our team earlier in the year, there was nobody on our staff or team who knew how to win a district championship. We could talk about it, but we had never done it,” said coach Chris Sullens, who led his team to the program’s first district title in 43 years last Tuesday. “We’ve been in this situation. We went down to Walker Valley and broke that 30-plus year region streak two years ago. We had kids in the locker room who understood how this game would work.
“I’m very proud of the kids. They knew they could win the basketball game. Two years ago, we thought we could win. These kids knew they could win.”
Warren County (20-11) trailed only once the entire night, falling behind 3-2 after a Deleon Petty triple. The Pioneers answered with a 12-1 run, punctuated by a pair of Taylor triples.
The defense also got cranked up early, with Dee Spates and Irving Espinoza combining to swipe three straight steals at one point. Taylor also had a tomahawk block of an Owl shot, setting the early tone.
“We got off to a hot start and when we do that, we’re a pretty tough team,” said Sullens. “It’s a situation where the more you’re around it and the more you’re familiar with it, the atmosphere won’t bother them. We weren’t bothered.”
The lead swelled to as many as 20 in the second quarter, with Espinoza sinking a pair of long bombs. The senior sniper scored all eight of his points in the period, helping Warren County take a 35-21 halftime lead.
Cummings was the steadying force throughout the middle two quarters every time Ooltewah looked poised to make it a game. The junior post stopped an Ooltewah run in the second quarter with a three-point play off a putback, then did it again in the third quarter to push the Pioneers back up 20 points.
The Owls were never able to whittle the lead below 10 points in the final three quarters, allowing the Pioneers to cruise down the stretch in front of a full house.
“Have you ever seen a better atmosphere in Charlie Dalton Gym? Warren County supports as well as anybody in this area when you give them a product on the floor to support,” said Sullens after the game. “I thought we gave them something tonight. I’m proud of everybody who came out. This is exactly how it should be – our players and staff thank the student body and the fans. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better atmosphere.”
Dee Spates rounded out the team’s scoring with five points. Senior Grant King didn’t score in his action late, but he finished with two huge assists early in the fourth quarter which helped put the game away.
With the win, Warren County moves into the region semifinals to play the Cleveland Blue Raiders. Once the state’s No. 1 team, Cleveland fell for the first time this season in the District 5AAA tournament finals. The group bounced back to beat Cookeville 94-50 Saturday behind a big night from Mr. Basketball finalist JaCobi Wood.
Sullens and his staff are wasting no time getting ready for the challenge of facing the 30-1 Blue Raiders in another win-or-go-home matchup.
“Five minutes,” said Sullens when asked how long it took to transition to Cleveland after Saturday’s win. “We’ll be watching film all night. We’ll watch film tomorrow. Two of our staff guys already started scouting them earlier in the week.
“Cleveland has a really good basketball team, but our kids are going to fight. We want our kids to enjoy the win and the atmosphere, but our coaching staff started working on Cleveland as soon as we got into the hallway after the game.”
See 1A for more on Tuesday's region semifinal matchup. More coverage of the region tournament will follow in Friday's paper.
