Pioneers top Bobcats for 7th
NASHVILLE — Warren County’s boys basketball team finished out their run at the Overton Christmas Tournament in winning fashion Monday morning, downing the host team to take seventh place.
The Pioneers broke a six-game losing streak, and avoided a winless tournament run, as they downed the Bobcats in a 57-53 nail-biter.
Down by as many as nine points in the second half, WCHS (5-6) trailed by three entering the fourth quarter, but four straight free throws, two from Reese Bishop and two more from Josh Nunley, put the Pioneers on top 44-43.
The lead see-sawed back and forth between the two squads for much of the quarter, and Overton’s A.J. Brown nailed a 3-pointer with just under two minutes to play to put his team on top 51-50.
Brandon Reynolds made it a 53-50 game, but Kyle Thompson hit a free throw with 1:08 to play to get the Pioneers within a bucket, and Bishop came through with a steal and layup to tie the game at 53-53, then Thompson gave WCHS the lead at 55-53 with just seconds to play.
On Overton’s final inbounds play, the Bobcats attempted to throw the ball off a WCHS defender out of bounds, but Bishop stole the ball and got it to Shay Glenn, who was fouled and nailed a pair of attempts from the charity stripe to seal the win.
Thompson finished with 17 points to lead the Pioneers, despite being held scoreless in the first quarter. Bishop netted 15 points, while Nunley posted 10, including six in the first period.
Glenn and Todd Gilley had four apiece, while Warren Swann and Ross Marlowe each added three.
Reynolds led the Bobcats with 18 points, while Brown had 15 and Justin Wilson scored eight. Chris Harris had five, Rewan Amedi added three, and the duo of William Grigsby and Childress Sawyers posted two each.
• Tenacious defense helped the Pioneers get off to a quick start Saturday afternoon, but University School of Nashville battled its way back into the game and eventually to a 62-50 victory.
WCHS jumped out to an 8-2 lead, thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from Bishop and Brooks Majors. That accuracy from the perimeter opened things up outside, where Nunley and Gilley were able to capitalize.
The Tigers came charging back, however, with Matt Addison scoring a pair of buckets to cut into the lead, and Carter Dunham adding two free throws to make it a 12-8 WCHS advantage after the first quarter.
The second period saw the Tigers continue to chip away at the Pioneers’ edge, and a 5-0 run culminating with an Addison putback gave them a 19-16 lead midway through the period. Bishop tied the game with a 3-pointer, and went coast-to-coast for a last-second layup that sent the teams into halftime knotted at 23-23.
Thompson, who had sat out the entire first half, scored six points in the third for the Pioneers, but a 9-of-10 shooting percentage from inside the 3-point line kept USN in the game, as they led 41-38 going into the fourth.
WCHS tried to regain momentum in the game’s final stanza, and 3-pointers from Majors and Bobby Simpson helped them to 12 points in the quarter. But the Tigers held on for the win, pulling away late at the free-throw line and managing 21 points in the period.
Addison was a one-man wrecking crew for the Tigers, posting 30 points, including 10 in each of the game’s final two quarters. Darrell Hardin and Curtis McCord had 11 each, while Mark Wheeler and Dunham each scored four. Michael Riebeling added three.
The Pioneers got 11 points from Bishop, while Thompson finished with eight and Majors had six. Marlowe, Gilley, Brandon Adcock and Nunley scored four each, Simpson had three, and Swann, Glen and Andrew Deason scored two apiece.
The Pioneers return to action Jan. 6, at home against Coffee County.