Pioneers fall in double OT heartbreaker

Head Coach Ryan Smith instructs his team prior to the second overtime period Tuesday night.

For that matter, neither were 36.

But unfortunately for the Pioneers and their supporters, the 37th minute was the turning point, as the Warriors took control on their way to a dramatic 78-70 double-overtime win.

White County?s Tyler Greene, who finished with a game-high 30 points, converted a three-point play to open the second overtime period, and J.J. Taylor scored a pair of unanswered baskets off Warren County turnovers, giving the Warriors a 70-63 lead. The Pioneers pulled to within four, but could get no closer, as Sparta hit eight straight turnovers down the stretch to maintain their lead and survive for the victory.

The Pioneers, who fell to 4-16 overall and 0-11 in district play with the loss, trailed by as many as a dozen points in the first half of Tuesday?s game, but closed the second quarter with a 12-2 run. The scoring surge included a pair of Donta Weir 3-pointers, and allowed WCHS to go into intermission down by just a basket at 31-29.

Chase Officer scored four straight points early in the third, giving the Pioneers their first lead of the contest at 36-34, and they maintained their advantage throughout the quarter, entering the fourth with a 46-44 lead.

Trailing 54-51 late in the fourth quarter thanks to a lay-up from Greene, the Pioneers tied the game at 54-54 on a three-point play by Chris Weitzel, who led his team with 21 points. White County tried for a potential game-winning bucket, but it was off the mark as the final horn of regulation sounded.

In the first four-minute overtime period, the Warriors took an early lead once again, but Josh Moore knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the teams at 60-all, and with 22 seconds left Weitzel hauled in a pass from Ryan Daniel and scored to knot the score at 63-63, setting the stage for the second OT period.

Officer finished with 17 points for the Pioneers, who hit just over half their shots, but were just 3-of-11 from 3-point range and 15-of-22 from the free-throw line. Weir added a dozen, while Moore scored 11 and Daniel had seven points.

Josh Brown and Kyle Delaney added 14 each for the Warriors, who improved to 19-6 on the season and 7-5 in the league standings.

The Pioneers travel to Blackman tonight.