Blue Devils edge WC?s frosh boys

Lebanon pulled away in the final seconds Thursday night, handing the Pioneer freshman basketball team a 65-61 home loss in a nip-and-tuck contest.

Tied at 15-all after a quarter, the two squads matched each other virtually basket-for-basket throughout the second, until the Blue Devils? Phillip Vance knocked down a late 3-pointer to spark a 7-2 run which gave the visitors a 37-31 halftime lead.

Lebanon tried to build upon its advantage, but the feisty Pioneers refused to relent, and pulled within four at several points in the third quarter before a late bucket from Justin Bridges gave Lebanon a 49-41 lead entering the fourth quarter.

A trey from Daniel Ford gave LHS an 11-point lead early in the fourth, but the Pioneers came storming back with 9-2 run, once again closing the gap to four thanks to a Dakota Taylor three-point play. Two Jacob Hall free-throws with 2:13 to go cut the deficit to a basket at 59-57, and with just 13 seconds left Taylor scored to trim the Pioneer deficit to 63-61.

WCHS had to foul to stop the clock, and Lebanon?s Vance missed both his attempts with 12 ticks to go. But somehow the Blue Devil guard found his way through to get his own rebound, and put the ball back in off the glass to seal the four-point win for the visiting club.

Vance finished with 14, while teammate Jalonzo Bishop led the Blue Devils with 18 points and Ford added 11.

Cody Bond led the Pioneers, scoring nine of his game-high 25 in the first quarter. Mark Harvey added 10 points, while Taylor had nine.