Winning rivalry games are always sweet. Having Keyton Reno to slam home emphatic dunks in the clutch to seal games is even sweeter.
Reno finished with a team-high 16 points and added more high-flying highlights Monday as the Pioneers defeated White County on the road 56-51. It was the fifth straight victory for the Pioneers as they have started out 2025 as hot as they finished 2024.
Reno put a Sparta defender on a poster with a thunderous dunk with 3:45 left to tie the game at 50-50, then added a driving layup with 1:30 left to give the Pioneers the lead for good.
Devin Fish added 15 points, including sealing the game with a late layup and two free throws, as the Pioneers came through in the clutch in the border battle.
Warren County (9-3) led 42-40 entering the fourth quarter after Fish beat the third-quarter buzzer with an off-balanced lefty layup, but the Warriors took the lead early in the fourth. Corban Felton helped the Pioneers recapture the lead with a long 3-pointer from the left wing, starting a span where the lead would bounce back and forth for the next five minutes.
Fish broke a 45-45 tie with 5:14 left with a 3-pointer, only to see Sparta answer back with a three-point play from senior guard Tripp Pinion. A layup from Cole Sims pushed Sparta up 50-48, but Reno came back with a huge slam off a high-low pass, rising up and dunking as a pair of Warrior defenders couldn't stop him.
Sparta regained the lead momentarily with a free throw, but was held scoreless the final 2:25 as Warren County pulled away.
Felton helped seal the game with 47.7 seconds left, stepping in front of a pass when White County was trying to inbound with a chance to take the lead. Felton made the interception in the front court, then fed Fish for a layup that made it 54-51.
Deashawn Adams stripped Sparta of the ball seconds later and Fish finished off the victory with two free throws with 24.8 seconds left.
Warren County will return home Thursday for a district battle with Columbia.
Pioneer scoring - Reno 16, Fish 15, Felton 9, Chance Whitlock 7, Adams 4, Nate Turner 4, Canaan Parris 1
