WARREN CENTRAL IMPROVES TO 10-1 WITH ROUT OF PURPLES
Bowling Green High School coach DG Sherrill thought about his defensive game plan and gave all the credit to Warren Central’s Chappelle Whitney.
“He’d had three 3-pointers all season, until tonight,” Sherrill said.
Whitney drained four of them in the first quarter alone and scored 29 points, 27 of them in a dazzling first half, as Warren Central rolled to a 91-69 victory over Bowling Green on Tuesday night.
Whitney hit 3-pointers from both sides of the court and challenged the Purples’ defenders with drives to the basket. He was willing to share the wealth, too, as Warren Central had five players finish in double figures. The Dragons improved to 10-1 on the season, while Bowling Green dropped its third straight game, falling to 10-3.
Warren Central coach Will Unseld said the Dragons are a versatile team on offense, but he’s hoping they’ll do a better job in finishing off an outmanned opponent down the stretch.
“It’s been a different guy for us, just about every night,” Unseld said. “This team has a lot of scorers. They all kind of believe in each other, but we took our foot off the gas in the fourth quarter.
“Chappelle’s a confident kid. Lotta skills. He can shoot, he can dribble, he can pass the ball. He can do it all.”
Warren Central led 55-29 at halftime and cruised to victory over the course of the final two quarters.
Whitney, however, had plenty of help from his friends.
“When we all come out, and start hitting shots, we’re going to be a tough team to beat,” Warren Central senior guard Jaiden Lawrence said. “Coach (Unseld) is always telling us to make a statement, in a big game like this one. I think we did that, tonight.”
Lawrence finished with 17 points and turned in a strong defensive effort on the perimeter. Junior point guard Omari Glover scored 13 points and helped the Dragons dominate on the boards. Warren Central’s Malik Jefferson had 12 points, and teammate Damarion Walkup added 10.
BGHS point guard Turner Buttry led the Purples with 20 points, while teammate Curtis Lin finished with 14. Elijah Starks had 8 points for Bowling Green, while Deuce Bailey added 7.
“In a game like this, we needed all of our guys scoring out there, ” Walkup said. “We knew we had to have a good start … Once Chappelle hit that first 3-pointer, everybody really had a lot of energy out there.”
DG Sherrill would be inclined to agree.
“Your start is important in a game like this,” Sherrill said. “We got on our heels, and they were on their toes. I’ve got to do a better job of coaching my team. In the first half, they were probably shooting 75 percent from 3.
“We’ve got to get back to the drawing board, fix a few things on the practice floor. This game won’t define our season.”
BGHS forward Brad Gurley looks forward to the Purples’ next shot at the Dragons, scheduled for January 18 on the Bowling Green campus.
“We really didn’t come out to play tonight,” Gurley said. “They had the fast start and had a lot of guys scoring. We’ll get to see them again.”
