White County Middle School Warriors would enter the Upper Cumberland District Tournament as the number three seed in the district. Their first-round opponent would be the DeKalb County Saints. The teams would match up at Roy Sewell Gymnasium, on Nov. 16.
The Saints got off to a quick start and a 5-point lead. Eli Smith battled for a rebound and was fouled going up for a shot. He made both free throws getting the Warriors on the board. Tucker Pinion looked like his older brother on a nice drive to the basket. Cole Sims was aggressive with the ball and scored on a couple of drives of his own. Sims also hit a long 3 to give the Warriors an 11-7 advantage after one period.
The Warrior offense was strong in the second quarter. Jack Carpenter hit a long 3-pointer. Pinion got hot and scored 7 points in the quarter. Sims added another 4 points, and the Warriors led 27-11 at halftime.
The second half looked a lot like the first as the Warriors continued to dominate both sides of the ball. The Warriors led 43-19 after three quarters. Coach Mark Sims was able to get his subs into the ballgame for all of the fourth quarter. The young guys came in and played just as well as the starters. Big man Noah Barringer made a couple of strong moves inside. Andrew Jollif had a nice drive to the basket. Cole Gentry also got on the board with two free throws. The final score was 52-26.
Cole Sims led the team in scoring, with 22 points. Tucker Pinion scored 11 points. Seven other Warriors got their names in the scorebook.
The win against DeKalb County set up a rematch for the Warriors with the Algood Redskins. The teams would meet, on Jan. 19, at Roy Sewell Gymnasium. It would be the third meeting on the season between the teams. Algood had won the previous two matchups by a total of 9 points.
The Warriors came out determined to make this game’s result different. They played very hard on both ends of the court. The Warriors employed a full-court press that caused the Redskins to turn the ball over. Jack Carpenter hit an early 3 to give the Warriors momentum. Cole Sims was a man on a mission, driving the ball inside and scoring 6 points in the quarter. Tucker Pinion made shots from inside and outside, and the Warriors led the Redskins 16-8 after one quarter of play.
JoJo Dowell showed his range as he knocked down a long 3-point shot at the beginning of the second quarter. Sims continued to drive to the basket, and the Warriors were able to carry a 26-17 lead into halftime.
The Algood coaching staff must have made some great adjustments during halftime because they came out in the second half and shut down the Warrior offense. The Warriors were only able to muster 4 points in the third quarter but held on to a 1-point lead headed into the fourth. The score after three was 30-29 in favor of the Warriors. That lead slipped away in the fourth quarter. The Redskins used strong inside play on both ends of the court to wrestle away the victory from the Warriors. The final score was 46-41.
The loss does not end the Warriors season, however. The Warriors will play West Wilson in regional action at 3:30 p.m., Jan. 28, at WCMS.
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