Pioneers clip Jets’ wings, 69-64
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The Pioneers had trouble shooting, turned the ball over, and struggled against Cumberland County’s tough pressure defense.
In fact, the only similarity between the Pioneers’ first two games this season turned out to be the final result, as Warren County survived a tooth-and-nail battle to take a 69-64 victory.
“In the end, we fought,” said coach Doug Keil, whose squad trailed 49-48 heading into the fourth quarter and was knotted with the Jets 62-62 late in the game.
“We didn’t shoot well, didn’t shoot from the line well, and there really weren’t that many things we did well. But the one thing we did well was fight. We never gave up, no matter what the score, and we were fortunate enough to pull it out.”
Down by one with just one period to play, the Pioneers began forcing the ball inside to Kyle Thompson, who responded with back-to-back baskets to bring momentum back to the home team’s side.
“Two things that helped us in the second half, and we preach it, is going inside-out,” Keil said. “Kyle Thompson came on in the fourth quarter, and we were able to punch it in to him about three times in a row and he scored. Then we finally blocked out on the defensive end, and pulled down some rebounds.”
Four straight points from Reese Bishop put WCHS on top by five, but clutch 3-point shooting by the Jets helped keep them in the game, and a trey from Rodney Howard tied the score at 62-62 with less than three minutes to play.
Warren County stepped up on the defensive boards, however, and took advantage of missed shots from the Jets to pad their lead while holding CCHS to just one field goal down the stretch.
Willie Patton finished with 15 points to lead the Jets, while Brandon Houston had 10 and Howard had nine — all on second-half 3-pointers. Denis Gilpin scored eight, Andy Melton had six, Cub Whitson scored five and Cody Christopher had four, while Danny Cumby had three and the duo of Joseph Elkins and John Wieland had two each.
“That’s a very good ball club, and well-coached,” Keil said of the Jets, who went to overtime against his squad in last year’s season opener. “You’re not going to get a better coached team. They’re a veteran group, and they know what they’re supposed to do.”
For the Pioneers, Randal Harrell scored 11 points in each half to finish with a game-high 22, while Reese Bishop had 17. Thompson finished with 11 — all in the second half, while Cody Hillis had six and Breu Bonner scored five. Todd Gilley, Josh Nunley, Andy Harrell and Tommy Jones had two each.
The Pioneers will host the Papa John’s Classic next weekend, taking on Smyrna on Friday night and Rossview on Saturday.