With the game seemingly on the edge of slipping away in the third quarter, the DeKalb Middle School Saints were able to right the ship and defeat Warren County in a physical battle Friday afternoon before the student body in Smithville.
Escaping with a 33-25 win, the Saints improved their record to 15-1 on the season and made it a clean sweep of their border rivals after beating them by a single point in McMinnville earlier this season. Leading the way for the Saints was Elishah Ramos who scored 15 on the day, 10 of those coming down the stretch in the fourth quarter.
It appeared the Saints had things in hand as they went to the locker room with a 15-9 lead, with only Braylon Grayson with six and Logan Earls with a single three denting the scoreboard for the Pioneers. However, the wheels came off the DeKalb offense after half-time as the Pioneers went on a 13-5 run in the third thanks to Kaden Rutledge who accounted for seven of those points. The Warren County press also forced several DeKalb turnovers, leading the Pioneers to take the lead for the first time, 21-20 with just a second left on the third quarter clock.
The lead was short-lived as the Pioneers came out flat in the fourth while the Saints found another gear. Ramos, in leading his squad to victory, was sharp at the free throw line, making seven of eight from the charity stripe during the closing minutes. Helping in scoring in the victory was Robert Wheeler with eight, Ean Jones with six and Statson Agee and Connor Close both with two.
The Lady Saints were unable to pull out their tilt with the Lady Pioneers earlier in the afternoon, as they fell 34-25.
Avery Agee with three and VanVranken with two were again the only source of scoring going into the third. There was reason for hope in the fourth when the Lady Saints went on a scoring run; however, it was too little too late as the Lady Pioneers were able to hold them off for the victory. The win gave Warren County a sweep of the Lady Tigers given their earlier victory in McMinnville.
