Pioneers collapse under Lebanon?s pressure defense
LEBANON ? Pioneer head coach Ryan Smith didn?t mince any words when describing his team?s effort at Lebanon Friday night.
?We got whipped in every phase of the game,? he said following his club?s 59-24 loss to the Blue Devils. ?Not just beaten; we were whipped.?
The Pioneers, facing former WCHS coach Doug Keil, found no answers for Lebanon?s defensive pressure, turning the ball over 32 times and hitting just eight of 30 attempts from the floor, including an 0-for-7 clip from 3-point range.
Smith noted his ?every phase of the game? comments applied not only to what happened on the court Friday, but on the sidelines, as well.
?I feel like we were whipped as coaches, too,? he said. ?(Keil) had his team prepared, they had a good gameplan going in, and obviously we didn?t.
?It?s hard to prepare during practice for the kind of speed and pressure Lebanon brings defensively, but we?re not about to use that as an excuse.?
For one minute, things seemed to go Warren County?s way Friday night, as Donta Weir found his way to the basket to give the Pioneers a quick 4-0 lead. Lebanon answered with a vengeance, however, forcing 10 turnovers in the first quarter and nine more in the second and scoring 16 unanswered points on the way to a 27-9 halftime lead.
The Pioneers managed just six five field goals in the second half, including seven from leading scorer Chris Weitzel. Lebanon, meanwhile, built a lead which swelled to as many as 37 points down the stretch, out-scoring their guests 21-7 in the third and 11-8 in the fourth quarter.
Weitzel?s 10 led the Pioneers, while P.L. Prater and Weir finished with four each. A dozen different Blue Devils found their way into the scoring column, with O?Keefe McCarver leading the way with 11, nine of which came in the first half. Lebanon hit 39 percent from the field, attempting a whopping 62 shots thanks to a decided advantage on the offensive boards.
The Pioneers (2-10, 0-6) traveled to Tullahoma last night, and play host to Oakland Tuesday, Siegel Friday and Coffee County Saturday night.