A second-half surge by the Warren County High School Pioneers put them over the top as they defeated the DeKalb County Tigers, 60-50, Thursday afternoon in Smithville.
Outscored 16-5 in first-quarter action, DeKalb County was deadly accurate on the 3-point shot, making four first-quarter treys. The Pioneers were slow to start with field goals by Irving Espinoza and K’Rojhn Calbert, with Calbert also converting 1 point from the charity stripe.
Watching their deficit grow, the Pioneers (7-5) would dig down even further, 22-7, before finding a way to dig themselves out with a rally which began late in the second quarter and continued to the final buzzer.
“This was a team win in every sense of the word,” said Warren County head coach Chris Sullens. “I’m very proud of the way our guys responded down 22-7 at one point in the second quarter. We went on a 28-1 point ratio until midway through the third quarter. We turned up the pressure and when we created turnovers our guys finished in transition. I’m very pleased with the determination and toughness our team has showed the last two games. When they have faced adversity they hit it head on. They haven’t made excuses and just kept competing. I’m very encouraged by the way this team represented itself tonight on the floor. We move forward.”
The Pioneer defensive pressure worked well to contain the Tiger offense as it only hit for 34 points in the last three quarters, while Warren County scored 55 points in the same time frame.
Four Pioneer hoopsters broke double digits, headed up by freshman Irving Espinoza with 13 – a game high, McCall Turner 12 and Tyree Ladet and K’Rojhn Calbert both scored 11 points. Comparatively, only one Tiger broke the double-digit ceiling.
Distributing the basketball well, the Pioneer passes were accurate and they worked inside the paint as nine players scored points by setting up the open man. Warren County’s long ball made them even harder for the Tigers to defend as the Pioneers hit six 3-pointers during the contest keeping the defense guessing.
Warren County went 12-for-20 from the line for 60 percent, while the Tigers hit 8-of-14 for 57 percent.
Rounding out the Pioneer scoring were Isaiah Grayson with 6 points, Isaac Golden 3, Sloan Seymour 2 and Ethan Smith and Caleb Newby both hit 1 point.
The win gives the Pioneer team, and Warren County fans an early Christmas present as Sullen says the team goes into the official Christmas break over .500 for the first time in 13 years.
The Pioneers play again during the break in the ninth annual Sonic Shoot-Out in White County beginning with a game against Smith County on Tuesday, Dec. 20, at 9:30 a.m.