The Warren County High School boys basketball team claimed the championship of the Watertown Christmas Classic by beating the host school 46-43 on Thursday night.
In a game where neither team led by more than four points in the second half and featured 14 lead changes, a 3-pointer by Jacob Reagan and two clutch free throws by Hunter Daniel powered the Pioneers to victory.
With 1:08 to play and the score tied at 41, Reagan dialed up from long distance in the left corner and drained a go-ahead 3-pointer for the Pioneers.
Watertown was able to cut the lead to one on the next possession, but Daniel made two free throws with 31.5 seconds to play to give Warren County a three-point advantage.
Watertown had two opportunities in the final seven seconds to tie, but a 3-pointer from the top of the key was errant and the rushed try at the buzzer went well over the rim and sent Warren County into celebration mode at halfcourt.
It was a game of spurts in the first quarter. Watertown began the game on a 7-0 run as Warren County went scoreless for the first three minutes.
Junior Tucker Smith finally broke the scoreless streak by hitting a free throw with 4:24 left in the first quarter, but the Pioneers didn’t score from field until Nick Simmons connected on a putback 90 seconds later.
Smith’s free throw and Simmons’ score were a part of a 9-1 run as the Pioneer took control of the game. Smith capped off the run with two more free throws as Warren County took its first lead at 9-8 with 1:29 remaining in the first quarter.
Watertown was able to regain the lead with a 5-0 run to finish the first quarter and lead 13-9 entering the first break.
Daniel began to take over at the beginning of the second quarter. The senior, who came off the bench in the championship game to lead the team with 15 points, began the second with two free throws. Daniel then answered a jumper by Watertown with a putback to keep Warren County within two.
Baskets by Hunter Adams, Justin Ware and Lee Carden kept the Pioneers close, but Watertown looked like it was going to take a four-point lead into halftime before Mitchell McCorkle changed the game.
The Pioneers got the ball under their own basket with 4.2 seconds to play and needed to go the length of the court to score. McCorkle caught a pass near his own free-throw line and started up court with a full head of steam.
Just past halfcourt, McCorkle launched a long 3-pointer that banked off the glass and into the net to cut the deficit to 23-22 entering the locker rooms.
When the Pioneers returned to the court, Adams would be the first to score in the second half as the see-saw game began. In the third quarter alone, the lead switched eight times as neither team led by more than two points.
McCorkle came up with another big bucket near the end of a quarter as the senior point guard nailed a floater from the left wing with 23.8 seconds left in the third to send the game into the final period tied 32-32.
Daniel opened the fourth quarter by tipping in a miss, but in the senior’s excitement celebrating the basket, Daniel was assessed a technical foul for taunting.
Watertown split the pair of free throws, then got two more freebies on the ensuing possession to take a one-point lead with six minutes remaining.
Carden came through with a big basket to put the Pioneers back on top. On a miss, Carden came flying through the lane and was able to put the miss back in while falling down to help Warren County lead 36-35.
Watertown answered right back with a layup to make it 37-36, but it would be the last time the Pioneers trailed.
Smith scored on a layup to give Warren County the lead back, then Daniel redeemed himself with a three-point play to put the Pioneers ahead 41-37.
The home squad wouldn’t go away though. Back-to-back baskets tied the game at 41 with two minutes to go, but Reagan and Daniel were clutch down the stretch.
Reagan’s corner three was the game changer as Watertown never could answer from deep. The last-ditch effort at the end by Watertown wasn’t meant to be as the home team missed 17 of its 18 3-pointers in the contest.
Following the game, four Pioneers were honored for their performances in the three-day tournament. Simmons, a junior, was named the tournament MVP. Daniel, Smith and McCorkle were named to the all-tournament team.
The Pioneers return to action Tuesday with a road game in Cannon County.
This week is also the start of District 6-AAA action as Warren County will travel to Coffee County on Friday. Both games are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.