Freshmen get their revenge vs. Cookeville
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Warren County exacted its revenge, improving to 5-5 on the season by downing the Cavaliers 53-42 behind a 20-point performance by Chris Weitzel.
Kyle Mullican got the Pioneers off to a good start by hitting a 3-pointer to open up the game. But Cookeville’s Michael Cox hit a jumper in the paint and 3-pointers by Caleb Deloach and Jonathan Wilhite gave the Cavaliers a 10-7 lead by the end of the first period.
Second-period action saw the Pioneers become more aggressive on both ends of the floor. Warren County got three straight baskets from Justin Bouldin, Chase Officer and Weitzel to take a 13-10 lead with five-minutes to play in the first half. Deloach countered with a 3 and a foul shot by Josh Williams put the Cavaliers back in front 14-13. Donta Weir and Weitzel took over in the closing minutes. Weir added two baskets from the paint, Weitzel converted a three-point play and made a power spin for two under the basket with nine-seconds on the clock as the two teams went into the half tied at 22-22.
Warren County shut down Cookeville over the first three minutes of the third period allowing just one point. Weir Weitzel started things off for the Pioneers with a pair of baskets each giving Warren County a 28-23 lead. Cookeville ran off seven unanswered points with baskets from Derek Wegerbauer, Austin Norton and a 3-pointer by Wilhite. Ryan Daniel hit the Pioneers last two shots of the period giving Warren County a 34-31 lead going into the final period.
Weitzel proved to be unstoppable in the fourth period as he scored eight of Warren County’s 19 points. Cookeville continued to shoot from behind the arc hitting two 3’s in the final period. But the Pioneers Kyle Mullican dialed it up from long distance hitting back-to-back 3’s with just under four minutes left. With two-minutes left to play Warren County held a 52-38 lead. The Cavaliers scored four points in the final two minutes, but Weir closed out the game with a lay-up securing the Warren County victory.
“This was a sweet win for this team,” said coach Stan Jacobs. “They beat us at Cookeville on a 3-pointer at the buzzer and I was just hoping the kids would come out and play hard tonight and they did just that.
“Weitzel played very strong in the paint and really worked hard on the glass as did Weir. We can build off this game and get ready for Van Buren on the road next Thursday.”
Leading the Pioneers was Weitzel with 20 points, Weir hit for 14, Mullican had 10, Daniel added four, Officer had three and Bouldin added two points.
For Cookeville, Wilhite hit for 12 points, Deloach had 11, Derek Wegerbauer had five, Cox hit for four, Josh Williams and Lee Maxwell had three each. Austin Norton and Casey Webb added two points each.