WCHS boys fall to 0-10 in league play
MURFREESBORO — The Pioneers hit the road Friday night to take on an Oakland squad which was reportedly reeling.
Having just escaped Charlie Dalton Gym with a three-point victory in their first meeting with the Pioneers, the Patriots came into Friday’s rematch with Warren County having lost three of their previous four District 7-AAA games.
But if the Oakland program was down going into the game, they had to have been at an all-time high 32 minutes later, after blasting the Pioneers 72-48.
Devin Boyd scored 21 of his game-high 23 points in the first half, as the (14-5, 7-3 in District 7-AAA) Patriots opened up an early 21-9 lead before taking a 25-14 edge by the first quarter’s end.
Boyd hit five 3-pointers in the first half, helping his team to a 41-19 lead by the break, and OHS coach Randy King cleared his bench through the game’s final two quarters as the defending district champions cruised to the victory.
With the loss, Warren County’s boys fell to 7-16 overall and 0-10 in the district, continuing a 7-AAA losing streak that extends back to February, 2003.
Jumping out to an early 6-0 lead, the Patriots faltered briefly in Friday’s first quarter, and Todd Gilley connected for five straight to close the gap to a single point. Oakland answered with a heavy dose of Boyd and Matt Joines, however, out-scoring their guests 19-9 over the remainder of the period.
A Warren Swann 3-pointer and an inside jumper from Adam Wood were all the points WCHS could muster in the second, and the Pioneers fell behind by as many as 34 points (70-36) through the second half before closing the game with a 7-2 run against the Patriots’ third-stringers.
Swann finished with 10 points to lead the Pioneers, while Brandon Adcock and Gilley had seven each. Wood and Brooks Majors scored five apiece, Andy Harrell and Terrin Martin had four each, and Josh Nunley rounded out the Pioneers’ efforts with three.
In addition to Boyd’s 23, Oakland got 13 points from Joines and 10 from Chaisson Allen. Darian Martin, the son of former Pioneer standout Raymond Martin, chipped in eight points, while Josh Fleming and Kendall James had six apiece. Adareus Dixon had four, and Shane Blissard rounded out the win with two points.
Warren County will continue its quest for its first district “W” Tuesday night, when it returns to Murfreesboro to face Blackman.