Comeback comes up just short: Pioneers battle back, but run out of time vs. Blue Devils
LEBANON — Through three quarters of Friday night’s game, the Lebanon Blue Devils were firmly in command.
Little did they know, they were in for a devil of a fight.
The Pioneers (7-17, 0-14 district) came up short in their final District 7-AAA game of the season, but gave their all in a comeback attempt, rallying from a 30-point deficit only to fall by a 76-68 margin.
Coach Chris Turner’s squad used some strategy to chip away at Lebanon’s lofty lead, gambling on the Blue Devils’ inaccuracy at the foul line during the game’s final stanza.
Trailing by as many as 64-34 in the second half, and looking at a 67-41 deficit by the end of the third, the Pioneers held the Blue Devils without a field goal throughout the fourth, and rattled off a 10-0 run of their own to start the period.
With Lebanon missing what few attempts they put up in the opening moments of the quarter, the Pioneers took advantage and began fouling their hosts with just over four minutes to play.
The stratagem paid off, as Lebanon managed to hit just nine of its 23 attempts from the line in the quarter. Warren County converted those misses into points on their end of the court, pulling within single digits late in the game and getting as close as six points (74-68) when Reese Bishop buried a 3-pointer with just seconds to play.
But time ran out on the comeback, and Lebanon’s Arkee Grooms nailed two free throws with three ticks left on the clock to seal the narrow victory for the Blue Devils and their head coach, former Pioneer mentor Doug Keil.
Friday’s game started out ugly for the Pioneer fans who made the trek to the Campbell Branden Gymnasium, and didn’t get much prettier for the majority of the first three quarters.
The Pioneers fell behind early, and Lebanon’s Daniel Christian hit a pair of 3’s in the first period to help his team to a 25-14 lead. Lebanon then equaled its first-quarter production with a 25-point second, while the Pioneers connected for 13 to trail 50-27 at the break.
Bishop led all scorers with 25 points, including an 8-for-8 night at the free-throw line. Todd Gilley added 12, while Ross Marlowe finished with 11 after being held scoreless in the first half.
Brooks Majors had eight points, including two 3-pointers, while Kyle Thompson scored six, Andrew Deason had three, Josh Nunley scored two and Ricky Curtis added a free throw.
The Blue Devils were led by Christian and Andrew Donald, who had 12 points each, while Jeremy Moore and Justin Logue scored 10 each.
Warren County took on DeKalb County at home Saturday, and closes out its season Tuesday at Coffee County.