Strong start propels Siegel boys to win

The Stars shined brightly early in Friday?s District 7-AAA boys contest at Warren County High School.

Murfreesboro?s Siegel High School boys had lost five straight heading into their game against the Pioneers, including a heart-breaking two-point loss to Lebanon last Tuesday. But an offensive eruption in the opening minutes of Friday?s tilt made all the difference, as the Stars built a lead they would never relinquish on the way to a 67-53 win.

With the defeat, their seventh straight, Warren County fell to 2-13 on the year and remained winless in district play at 0-8. Siegel upped its overall record to 10-12, improving to 3-5 in the 7-AAA standings as it completed the season sweep.

Donta Weir, one of two Pioneers to finish with a double-digit scoring total, drove the lane to give the home squad an early 2-0 lead, but Siegel answered with a three-point play from Tyler Cutter, sparking a 12-2 run which put his squad up 12-4 just four minutes into the contest.

Cutter, who finished with 21 to lead all scorers, buried a long 3-pointer at the closing horn of the first period, giving his team a 21-12 lead. And although the Pioneers held their own for the remainder of the contest ? scoring 41 points while giving up 46 ? the damage inflicted by the Stars in the early going proved to be the difference.

?We missed a lot of easy shots early, and that hurt us,? said coach Ryan Smith. ?We did a good job breaking their press, and sticking the ball wherever we wanted to stick it, but it just came down to finishing.

?On a lot of possessions we just couldn?t finish the play, and that ended up costing us in the end.?

The Pioneers shot just over 38 percent according to unofficial stats, but missed seven 3-point attempts and hit 15 of their 24 tries from the charity stripe. Siegel, which benefited from a 19-point night by post man Braxton Terry, hit 28 of its 55 shots, despite a 1-of-7 clip from behind the arc and a 10-of-19 night at the line.

Down by as many as 22 points (52-30) in the second half, the Pioneers closed the third quarter with a 7-2 run, and out-scored the Stars 16-13 over the final eight minutes of the contest.

Chase Officer had a big night on the offensive end of the court, leading the Pioneers with 16 points, while Weir finished with 15. Chris Weitzel, who was forced to the bench early in the game after being called for a pair of quick fouls, had six points, as did Ryan Daniel and Josh Moore.

The Pioneers were slated to face Coffee County Saturday night, and play host to Cookeville Tuesday before traveling to Riverdale on Friday. They?ll be back home next Saturday, for a nondistrict game against Tullahoma.