Seniors’ swan song: Pioneers blast White County
|
At a game where seniors Randal Harrell, Cody Hillis, Breu Bonner and Ethan Rutledge were recognized, Warren County’s boys provided a fitting end for the night of celebration with a 73-54 win over White County.
“I felt like we played a good game tonight,” said Bonner. “It was exciting for all of us.”
With the win, the Pioneers closed out their regular season with a 17-11 record, and wrapped their run through District 7-AAA with a 4-8 mark. They’ll take the No. 6 seed into next week’s district tournament. White County, which finished 0-12 in league play, will be the No. 7 seed.
White County, which came in hungry to place a mark in the district win column, held tough against the Pioneers early, and cut Warren County’s first-quarter lead to 13-12 with back-to-back-baskets from Ryan Qualls. But the Pioneers closed the period with a 7-0 run, going up 20-12 by the quarter’s end.
Building a 10-point (33-23) advantage by halftime, Warren County put the game out of reach in the third quarter, out-scoring its guests 25-14 in the period thanks in part to seven points from Randal Harrell and four each from Reese Bishop and Cody Hillis.
“They hung with us the first half, and played real hard. But we were able to stretch it out and pull away,” said Harrell, who finished with a team-high 20 points.
“I’m glad we all got to play, and we all did well. It was just a good night.”
As the fourth quarter wound to its conclusion, coach Doug Keil gave each senior the opportunity to leave the court individually, to rousing ovations from the Charlie Dalton Gym crowd.
Last to leave the floor was Rutledge, who was surrounded by his teammates and coaches while receiving the night’s longest round of applause.
“I played a few more minutes than I’m used to, but I had fun,” Rutledge said after the game. “It’s always good to play with these guys, and I’ll never forget it.”
In addition to Randal Harrell’s 20, the Pioneers got 14 points from Reese Bishop, while Bonner finished with seven. Rutledge and Brooks Majors had five each, with Hillis and Kyle Thompson each posting four.
Tommy Jones, Bobby Simpson and Todd Gilley had three apiece, with Andy Harrell and Warren Swann each netting two and Josh Nunley rounding out the winning effort with one point.
White County’s Seth England led all scorers with 22 points. The Warriors also got eight from Daniel Johnson and six from Seth Daniels.