The Pioneers were slow to recover from their Thanksgiving Day nap Friday in Woodbury.
Facing Upperman in a Thanksgiving Classic matchup, Warren County fell behind early and spent the rest of the game catching up. In the end, the Pioneers missed a tying shot in falling to Upperman, 63-60.
“We just got off to a rough start. Too much turkey I guess,” said WCHS coach Chris Sullens. “We had a chance to tie it at 61 but missed a free throw. Then we had a good look to tie, but missed front rim. We held them to 18 points in the second half and took the lead twice. We need to play four quarters.”
Holden Baker led Warren County with 16 points. Also scoring in double digits for the Pioneers were Trevor Gaines with 13, Joelah Solomon with 11, and Isaac Golden with 10.
Upperman’s Austin Shrum was the game-high scorer with 23.
Things couldn’t have started much worse for the Pioneers as Upperman raced out to a 24-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. Shrum led the way with seven points, one of four Upperman players to score at least four in the opening quarter.
Warren County was down 45-24 at the half, but brought the game close with a 21-point third quarter where everything seemed to be clicking on both ends of the floor. Baker and Solomon both nailed 3-pointers and Gaines powered in six points in the paint as the Pioneers came storming back.
Upperman was able to hold on for the victory on the strength of Shrum’s foul shooting. He made 6-of-8 free throws in the final quarter to preserve the win.
Warren County plays its first of three straight home games Tuesday against DeKalb County. The Pioneers play Cumberland County on Friday.

Warren County – Holden Baker 16, Trevor Gaines 13, Joelah Solomon 11, Isaac Golden 10, Isaiah Grayson 4, Chance Hobbs 4, McCall Turner 2
Upperman – Austin Shrum 23, Austyn McWilliams 9, Ben Guffey 8, Josh Endicott 8, Jake Dronebarger 7, Brendon Ely 4, Dylan Cushing 4