Pioneers bow out early
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And for a squad which has used its patented defensive pressure to its advantage, it was Lebanon’s press which caused the most problems in Monday’s 72-52 District 7-AAA tournament loss.
“I think — especially at the beginning — both their press and the fact that we didn’t play with the passion and intensity that we expect got to us,” said coach Doug Keil. “That kind of got us out of rhythm, then their press affected us some. But in the first half, I just didn’t think we were as emotionally involved as we usually are.”
The second half was a different story, however, as the Pioneers sliced an 18-point deficit in half in the early moments of the third quarter, then trimmed the Blue Devil lead back down to eight in the fourth before Lebanon took over for good.
“In the second half, my gosh,” Keil said. “I’m so proud of the way they worked, and battled and fought, and made it a game. We just ran out of gas.
“We ran out of fire, and if we’d played that way the whole game, I think we could have come out on top.”
The loss ended the Pioneers’ season at 17-12, while Lebanon moved on to face Blackman in Thursday night’s semifinal round.
After swapping baskets early in Monday night’s first quarter, the Blue Devils’ defense helped propel it to a lead late in the period. Lebanon scored five straight points off turnovers, taking a 12-7 lead, then closed out the period with a 10-0 run to go up 22-10 by the end of the period.
Lebanon’s Andrew Donald opened the second quarter with a traditional three-point play — the first of four such plays the Pioneers would give up on the night — and although Randal Harrell posted five of Warren County’s 11 points in the period, the Blue Devils continued to expand their lead and took a 39-21 edge into intermission.
But rather than give up the ship, the Pioneers came out of the halftime break with renewed enthusiasm, and launched an 11-0 run early in the third to whittle Lebanon’s lead down to 41-32.
“That’s the way all these guys are,” Keil said. “They care very deeply about this team, that’s why it’s so disappointing.
“They’ve put so much into it, they’ve worked so hard, and I think they kind of realized they didn’t have that fire in the first half. They felt bad about it, and wanted to come back, and I thought we had a chance to come back and win. But we just ran out of gas, I really believe that.”
Lebanon rebounded late in the third, rebuilding a 48-36 lead by the quarter’s end, but Harrell single-handedly scored nine unanswered points midway through the fourth to pull his team within eight (55-47).
That deficit, the lowest since early in the first quarter, would prove to be as close as Warren County would get, however, as Lebanon closed out the game with a 17-5 run to seal the win.
“One hundred and seven teams in triple-A are going to lose their last game, only one team is going to win it,” Keil said, “and this year it’s not us.
“We lost to a very worthy opponent, I think this is their 10th year straight of going to the region. They’re a quality team.”
Donald led the way for Lebanon with 23 points, including an 11-of-12 performance at the free-throw line. Jeff Dixon added 17, Jon Boyce scored 12, and the duo of Vern Dockins and B.J. Hughes added six apiece. Todd Cross had five, Brice Gilliam scored two and Jeremy Moore had one.
Harrell’s 22 led Warren County, while Reese Bishop had 15. Andy Harrell scored five, Tommy Jones had three, and Brooks Majors, Cody Hillis and Josh Nunley had two each while Kyle Thompson scored one.
The game not only marked the end of the Pioneers’ season, but the end of the high school careers of seniors Randal Harrell, Hillis, Ethan Rutledge and Breu Bonner.
“We’ve got four seniors that I’m going to sorely miss,” Keil said. “Right now, that’s what I can’t believe — that I won’t be able to see those guys out on the floor anymore.”