A ‘Devil’ of a night: WCHS boys whipped by former coach

By ROB NUNLEY / Sports Editor for the Southern Standard (McMinnville, Tenn.)

Reese Bishop (23) is swarmed by Lebanon defenders while going up for two of his team-high 15 points in Tuesday’s 88-56 loss. (Rob Nunley photo)

Former Pioneer basketball coach Doug Keil’s much-anticipated return to his former home court didn’t live up to its hype Tuesday night.

That is, unless you happened to be a Lebanon fan.

Keil’s Blue Devils rolled over their hosts, with four players scoring in double figures on the way to an 88-56 victory.

With the loss, the Pioneers fell to 6-10 overall and finished the first half of their District 7-AAA schedule with an 0-7 record. The Blue Devils — who posted their highest point total of the season — improved to 11-9 overall, and 3-4 in district play.

The Pioneers held their own early, although their only lead in the contest came after Ross Marlowe scored the game’s opening basket. A Kyle Thompson three-point play cut the WCHS deficit to 6-5, and back-to-back buckets from Todd Gilley and Reese Bishop made it an 11-9 Lebanon lead before the Blue Devils’ Todd Cross canned a 3-pointer to close the first period.

The Blue Devils began to steadily pull away in the second, scoring 26 points in the period, including 10 from Cross. Lebanon’s tight pressure defense resulted in several fouls against the Pioneers, who reached the bonus early. But missed opportunities at the free-throw line — including six straight misses from the stripe at one point — prevented WCHS from gaining any ground as the first half ended with Lebanon on top 40-24.

A 7-0 run helped the Blue Devils pad their lead, but the Pioneers responded with a 10-0 spurt of their own before running out of gas midway through the third. Lebanon, which hit 10 free throws on 13 attempts in the period, led 62-41 by the quarter’s end and continued to pad its advantage while clearing its bench in the fourth.

Cross and Arkee Grooms had 16 points apiece to lead the Blue Devils, while Andrew Donald and Jeremy Moore scored 11 each. Devon Steverson came off the bench to score nine points, while Michael Crowell had eight. John Presley had five, Justin Davis and Justin Johnson scored three each, Bryan Henderson and Zach Hutto chipped in two apiece and Kyle Eatherly and Jesse Allen each had one.

For the Pioneers, Bishop led the way with 15 points, while Gilley had 11. Thompson scored seven points, five of which came at the free-throw line. Brooks Majors had five, Josh Nunley and Jordan Underhill added three each, and four Pioneers — Marlowe, Ricky Curtis, Warren Swann and Adam Wood — had two each.

The Pioneers will have their work cut out for them tonight, as they begin the second half of their district schedule with a home matchup against Riverdale. The Warriors finished a perfect 7-0 on their first run through the league, including a win over White County Tuesday night.