Warren County avenged their season opening loss to DeKalb County on the gridiron this year, taking to the hardwood to hand DeKalb County a 59-42 loss in the annual border battle this past week.

The Pioneers got off to a quick start on their home court, taking an early 11-7 lead in the first period, the only Tiger scoring coming by a Nathan Atkins three and four free throws by Hayden Thomas. The second saw the Tiger offense get better on track but the Pioneers also found their groove, outscoring the Tigers 17-11 in the second for a 10-point half-time lead. Their nemesis in the second frame was Warren County’s Ethan Smith who had seven points, countered by Hayden Thomas who had four in the second for the Tigers.

The third frame proved to be the deciding factor in the border battle as the Pioneers erupted for 20 points while the Tigers struggled to put the ball in the basket, eking out just seven points. Pioneer C.J. Taylor proved to be the unstoppable one in the third as he had nine points by himself while no one Tigers player had more than a single basket in the third.

The Tigers finally came alive in the final quarter but it was too little too late, their 17-11 domination of the fourth not enough to offset the damage of the third period.

Hayden Thomas led the Tigers in scoring with 12. Nathan Atkins joined him on the scoring ledger with nine. Dallas Cook had seven, Luke Jenkins five.  Brayden Howard scored four and Colter Norris three while Noah Martin tendered two.

Following the Warren County loss, the Tigers went on the road the following night and took a 80-49 loss at White County. They then went to Jackson County where they were nipped 68-62

The DeKalb boys take a 1-4 record into Friday night when they will begin their district season when they play host to York Institute. They will then travel to Livingston Academy Tuesday night for their second district game.