WCHS boys clipped by Cavs

By ROB NUNLEY / Sports Editor for the Southern Standard

Warren County’s boys fell in their district matchup against Cookeville Tuesday night. Above, Warren Swann tries to back his way in against Zac Hennigan. (Rob Nunley photos)

COOKEVILLE ? Warren County’s boys battled down to the wire Tuesday night, but came up just short in their continuing quest for their first district victory, losing to Cookeville by a 58-49 final.

Jumping out to an early 7-0 lead, the Pioneers (6-16, 0-9 in district play) saw momentum swing the way of the Cavaliers through the rest of the first half, and trailed by a seven-point margin (28-21) at the break.

They fell behind by double digits in the third period, but Shay Glenn and Brooks Majors got hot from the floor, and pulled their squad back within four points ? 42-38 ? heading into the game’s final stanza.

Adam Wood scored after Majors picked off an errant Cavalier pass, and the Pioneers found themselves down by just a basket less than a minute into the fourth quarter. But Cookeville turned to senior Matt Hill ? who was recognized for a 1,000-point career prior to the game ? and he responded by scoring seven points over the game’s final seven minutes.

Trailing 50-46 after a Glenn basket with three minutes to go, Warren County had trouble getting the ball away from the Cavs, and was forced to foul late to conserve the clock. Cookeville (19-5, 6-3 district) struggled somewhat from the line, but hit six-of-10 and held WCHS to just a Wood 3-pointer down the stretch, maintaining their lead and sealing the victory with a Tyler Wolf dunk at the two-second mark.

Zac Hennigan led the way for CHS with 22 points, while Hill added 17 and Wolf had eight. Taylor Stearman added seven to the winning tally.

Majors paced the Pioneers with 15, including three 3-pointers, while Wood and Glenn had 10 points each. Ben Dunn scored seven and showed his defensive hustle by drawing a pair of offensive fouls, and Warren Swann scored three points while Isaac Slatton and Chase Officer had two apiece.

The Pioneers face Riverdale tonight, hoping to break their district losing streak and avenge a 56-47 loss from earlier this season.