Wild win for WCHS-Pioneers top Coffee County in up-and-down basketball battle
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Trailing by as many as 11 points in the first half, Warren County (2-3) surged ahead by an equal margin in the game’s final period, but a tenacious comeback attempt by the Raiders left the final result of the contest in doubt until the 32nd and final minute.
‘It was a tough game, but we stepped up our defensive pressure when we had to, and came through with some big baskets,’ said senior guard Donta Weir, who was one of four Pioneers to finish with a double-digit scoring total.
Weir finished with 11, while Chase Officer led the squad with 14 points, including a slam-dunk off a steal at the closing horn which put the exclamation point on the victory.
While the Pioneers posted their highest point total of the season so far, Officer noted it was a heightened defensive presence in the second half which keyed the team’s comeback.
‘We came out and stopped their penetration in the middle, and forced some turnovers,’ Officer said. ‘The defense made some big plays, and that helped us score on the other end.’
Weir added that stronger play inside was also a factor in the second half of Tuesday’s action.
‘In the first half we weren’t finishing our shots,’ he said. ‘We fixed that in the second half, and were able to step it up inside. We also concentrated on our blockouts, and that got our offense going.’
The momentum pendulum swung to both team’s side of the court throughout Tuesday’s game, which saw the Pioneers take an early 6-0 lead before Manchester battled back to tie the score at 8-all.
Up 16-13 entering the second quarter, WCHS allowed 11 unanswered points in the opening moments of the period, and trailed 32-23 after a Tyler Thornton 3-pointer and a Craig Jarrell basket. Weir scored four unanswered points, and Officer added the back end of a pair of free throws to send the squads into halftime with the Pioneers trailing 32-28.
The Pioneers held Coffee County to just two points over the first four minutes of the third, and took the lead when Kyrie Harris scored off a steal with 4:49 to play in the quarter. A dunk from Weir and last-second basket from Officer off a Derek Mikkola assist ended the period with Warren County on top 42-36, and they led by as much as a 49-38 margin before Coffee County attempted one more rally.
A 6-0 run midway through the fourth quarter pulled the Raiders within a basket at 50-48, and Kyle Kriz tied the score with a free throw at the 2:50 mark. But P.L. Prater answered with a 3-pointer, giving the lead back to Warren County, and the Pioneers out-scored their guests 8-0 over the final minute, with Chris Weitzel knocking down six points down the stretch.
Weitzel finished with 13, while Ryan Daniel had a dozen points, including seven during the first half of play. Coffee County got 14 points each from Thorton and Evan Magourik.
The Pioneers will be off until Dec. 7, when they open District 7-AAA play with a home contest against Blackman.