Freshman Boys clipped by Cookeville in nail-biter

Jacob Hall streaks downcourt with a Cookeville defender on his heels after a steal Thursday night.

The fourth quarter rally by Warren County provided fans with a nail-biting finish, but when the final buzzer had sounded the Cavaliers had escaped with a 60-56 win.

Cookeville got on the board first, but Dakota Taylor?s 3-pointer and a basket by Logan Seamons gave the Pioneers an early lead. Matt Phillips connected from behind the arc for the Cavaliers at the 3:45 mark, but Warren County answered with back-to-back baskets from Jacob Hall and Taylor. Cookeville closed out the period with four points to take a one-point lead after the first period of play.

Warren County held a 20-17 lead with 3:55 left in the first half after Ethan Turner hit a 3-point bucket. Turner added a two-point basket at the 1:45 mark, but Cookeville closed out the half with four 3-pointers. Mitchell Payne heated things up with three 3?s and Matt Phillips nailed another to give Cookeville a 30-23 advantage at the break.

Turnovers hurt the Pioneers in the third period with four in the first three minutes of play. After a Seamons basket, the Cavaliers? Payne hit another 3-pointer and added two more baskets from just inside the arc with 5:22 remaining. After a time-out by the Pioneers, Warren County came out crashing both ends of the glass, which helped them to run off eight unanswered points over a two-minute span. Cookeville closed out the period by adding seven points to the board for a 46-34 lead heading into the final period.

Hall, Mark Harvey and Cody Bond went to work in the paint for Warren County providing eight points. The Pioneers went to the free-throw line hitting 7-of-10 down the stretch. With 31 seconds left on the clock Seamons nailed a 3-pointer to pull the Pioneers within two at 56-54. With a chance to tie the game Warren County turned the ball over with 12 ticks left on the board. Payne closed out the game for the Cavaliers from the foul line, hitting 3-of-4 to give Cookeville the four-point victory.

For Warren County Turner led with 13 points. Seamons had nine, Taylor added eight, Hall and Bond had seven points each. Harvey hit for six, Michael Brewer, Zach Stephens and Tyler Adcock had two points each.

Payne led all scorers with 29 points for Cookeville. Matt Phillips added 14, Blake Fuston had six, Jason Hodge hit for five, Raymond Chan had three, Josh Weathcholtz had two and Justin Hayes added one point.