LED ALL SCORERS WITH 30 POINTS.
RAIDERS’ COMEBACK BID FALLS SHORT; BARREN COUNTY GIRLS PREVAIL 35-29
Warren East’s Isaiah Andrews and Barren County’s Aiden Miller have been teammates on a summertime travel league squad, the Kentucky Fire.
The Raiders move to the KHSAA’s 15th District this season, and the 6-foot-5 Andrews will play a key role in whether Warren East can improve on last year’s 11-17 finish under second-year coach Kyle Benge.
Miller and Barren County teammate Eli Brooks caught fire early and the Raiders’ comeback bid fell short in their 15th District debut on Friday night, and the visiting Trojans went on to turn back Warren East 72-63.
Brooks scored a team-high 26 points and Miller finished with 25 as Barren County evened its overall record at 2-2. The Trojans will play host to North Hardin on Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Don Franklin Barren Hoops Classic.
Meanwhile, Warren East (2-1) makes the short drive to South Warren to square off with Daviess County on Saturday in the Sparty Classic. That game is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. tip-off.
LED BARREN COUNTY WITH 26 POINTS.
“Me and Isaiah grew up playing travel ball together,” Miller said. “We know Warren East is a very talented team, but our defense was pretty good in the first half.
“I think we’re going to be a solid team, defensively. We communicate well and are playing help-side defense. A lot of people are overlooking us, but I think we’ve got a lot to work with. We’re still looking at what we can do to get better.”
Andrews, the Raiders’ 6-foot-7 guard/forward, provided the spark that East’s second-year coach, Kyle Benge, needed in the latter stages of the first half. Aiden Miller’s drive to the basket put the Trojans in front 29-5 in the final moments of the first quarter, and the Raiders were looking at a potential blowout.
GIVES HIS TEAM A SCORING PRESENCE.
“They came out and punched us in the mouth,” Andrews said. “It’s kind of hard to come back from that kind of deficit. The coaches are trying to get us to play as hard as we can, so that’s something we’ll have to work on. We’ve got seven seniors, a lot of leadership, a lot of experience.”
Andrews led all scorers with 30 points.
Benge said the Trojans’ strength near the basket was a critical factor in the outcome, and he pointed to Barren County’s early 29-5 lead as the difference when it was over.
“We got down 24 points against a good basketball team,” Benge said. “It’s going to be hard to overcome. Give Barren County credit. We played as hard as we could, and got back in the game. Defensively, they were a little better than us tonight.
“We’ll learn from this game and get better going forward.”
The Trojans’ early scoring barrage left Warren East in a state of bewilderment.
“I think we were a little shell-shocked,” Benge said.
GAVE THE RAIDERS A DEFENSIVE PRESENCE.
Senior forward Roger Duncan and the Raiders’ bench got Warren East back in the game, creating turnovers with a full-court press in the second half. Caiden Murrell’s 3-pointer from the left corner pulled Warren East to within five points, 55-50, early in the fourth quarter, and the Raiders again trimmed the deficit to five points with five minutes left, but the Trojans were equal to the task.
Andrews led the Raiders with 30 points while Murrelll added 14. Duncan finished with eight points and provided the defensive spark Warren East needed to get back in the game.
DIRECTS HIS TEAM IN THE FIRST QUARTER.
Veteran Barren County coach Warren Cunningham said his team is responding better against the full-court press, which was a factor in the Trojans’ season-opening losses to last year’s KHSAA Sweet Sixteen runner-up, Warren Central (an 88-43 defeat last week on Opening Night) and Elizabethtown (51-44 on December 2).
“I think going against the kind of pressure we saw from Warren Central and Elizabethtown helped us tonight,” Cunningham said. “Eli Brooks had those early points and that really seemed to open things up for us, offensively. We did a good job of sharing the basketball, and our defense picked up at the end of the game.”
Barren County went 17-13 last year, getting blown out by Warren Central, 70-37, in the KHSAA 4th Region Tournament at Western Kentucky University’s E.A. Diddle Arena.
COMES UP WITH A BLOCKED SHOT.
DAVIESS COUNTY ON SATURDAY.
BARREN COUNTY GIRLS 35, WARREN EAST 29
The Lady Raiders had a similar experience to their male counterparts.
Warren East managed just four points in both the first and second quarters, and trailed Barren County 21-8 heading into halftime. East’s defense improved in the second half, and a free throw from sophomore guard Madison Lawson pulled the Lady Raiders to within two points, 31-29, in the final minute of the game.
Barren County’s Abby Varney twice split on two free throws, making it a two-possession game, and the Trojanettes held on to win 35-29 to remain unbeaten in four games.
Warren East coach Jenny Neville, looking for a bounce-back season after last year’s 6-20 finish, is looking for more offensive efficiency. Sophomore forward Rileigh Jones had seven points for the Lady Raiders and Lawson finished with six.
Warren East (1-3) resumes its schedule with a home game against Todd County Central on Tuesday night.
“We got some good looks, in the first half, we just couldn’t get it to fall,” Neville said. “Defensively, I thought we played pretty well. We brought some girls off the bench when we went to the press, and they gave us a spark.
“We’ve just got to get something going, offensively. It’s been our Achilles heel so far.”
IS LOOKING FOR MORE OFFENSE.
AND HER STAFF MEET AT HALFTIME.
The tradition-rich Trojanettes went 22-7 last season, bowing out in the 4th Region semifinals with a 50-33 loss to Bowling Green. Barren County lost just two seniors from that team, veteran coach Piper Lindsey said, but the Trojanettes’ identity is just beginning to take shape.
“Some of our girls have more significant roles this year,” Lindsey said. “Tonight, I thought we played really well on defense. It’s December, four games in. We know we have a lot to work on.”
The Trojanettes play host to Larue County on Saturday, at 3 p.m., in the Don Franklin Barren Hoops Classic.
WITH LARUE COUNTY ON SATURDAY.