WCHS boys turned back at Blackman – Late scoring drought costly
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Ahead by a point with 2:47 to play in the third quarter, Warren County went a whopping eight minutes and 32 seconds before scoring again, and couldn?t connect on a field goal for over 10 minutes, as Blackman?s defense held them in check long enough to pull ahead.
Blackman improved to 8-4 in District 7-AAA and 14-8 overall with the win, while the Pioneers, who were led by a 14-point night from Chris Weitzel, dropped to 4-17 on the year and remain winless in league play at 0-12.
?Blackman is all about defense and rebounding, and they made adjustments that kept us from being able to get the ball inside to Weitzel the way we wanted to; that scoring drought was a direct result of that,? said WCHS head coach Ryan Smith. ?We?ve got to find other ways to get him the ball, and we?ve got to be able to adjust to what defenses do against him.
?This was disappointing, obviously, and we never count moral victories. It?s frustrating to fight so hard, and then come out with a loss, but I?m proud of the fact our guys aren?t giving up, and of the way they keep fighting. If they keep that up, they?re going to end up on the winning side of these close games.?
David Barnes, who led the Blaze with 18 points on the night, had seven of those points in the first quarter, as BHS built a 9-2 lead only to see the Pioneers close the gap to a basket late in the period.
Down 15-11 entering the second, the Pioneers trailed by as many as seven in the second, but kept in the game with high-percentage shooting, knocking down 11 of their 15 first-half free throws to trail by just four (29-25) at the break.
WCHS came out of the halftime locker room on a mission, and scored seven unanswered points to lead 32-29 midway through the quarter. Justin Powers and Barnes had a 3-pointer each for the Blaze, however, with the latter closing the third quarter with Blackman on top 37-35.
As the Pioneers struggled through the first five-plus minutes of the game?s final stanza, Blackman looked inside to Blake Bragg, who scored all five of his points in the opening minutes of the fourth and played a big part in his team?s defensive stand on the WCHS end of the floor. Chase Officer finally ended the scoring drought for the Pioneers with a pair of free throws at the 2:15 mark, and Moore had another trey with 21 seconds left, but the damage had been done, as Blackman was able to survive and capture the season sweep over their guests.
Officer added eight points to the Pioneer tally, with Moore chipping in seven. Ryan Daniel and Donta Weir had four apiece, and Jared Vanatta tossed in a 3-pointer.
Alex Carter scored 10 for the Blaze, while center Paul Stevens had six.
The Pioneers will be in action at home Tuesday, facing Lebanon, and they?ll wrap up the district season on Friday with a trip to Oakland, which clinched the league?s regular-season title with a win over Cookeville Friday night.