WCMS picks up sweep over Dibrell: Pioneers rally after trailing by two at half
Warren County Middle School’s sixth-grade boys battled back from a halftime deficit Monday night to top Dibrell’s Wildcats 37-30 at Dibrell.
The Pioneers held a brief lead at one point in the second quarter, but went into the halftime break down 16-14 before battling back to take a big lead behind Cameron Smith and Paul Lawson Prater, who combined for 29 of the Pioneers’ final point tally.
Dibrell jumped out to an early lead in Monday’s contest, with Taylor Barrett scoring six points in the first quarter. But the Pioneers got on the board with just under four minutes to play in the period, and closed the gap to 6-5 when Smith hit a layup with one second on the clock.
Smith scored off a steal to open the second quarter, and gave WCMS its first lead of the game. A putback from Prater helped the Pioneers stay on top briefly, but Cody Bond brought the Wildcats back, scoring six points in the second quarter to help Dibrell go into halftime with a 16-14 lead.
The third quarter was all Pioneers, however, as WCMS turned up the heat defensively, creating several turnovers, and Smith and Prater converted the takeaways into points on the Pioneer side of the scoreboard.
Dibrell was held scoreless until the final minute of the quarter, when Bond put in a pair of baskets to cut the WCMS lead to 29-20 heading into the fourth. But the Wildcats weren’t able to take over momentum in the final period, and got no closer than six points in the fourth quarter.
Smith finished with 16 points to lead all scorers, while Prater had 13 for the Pioneers’ winning effort. Alex Lanier netted four, while Cameron Bond and Coty Keel had two apiece.
For Dibrell, Barrett led the way with 12 points, while Cody Bond had 10. Lou Christian and Dylan Blair chipped in four apiece.
Dibrell was scheduled to take on Centertown Tuesday night. The Pioneers are slated to travel to Eastside on Friday.