WILLIAMSBURG — Whitley County fought back from a seven-point halftime deficit to hand Knox Central its first loss of the season on Friday.
The Colonels (2-1) trailed 39-32 when they began to chip away at their deficit, outscoring the Panthers, 29-19, to capture a 61-58 win.
“Great to get another region win,” Whitley County coach Eric Swords said. “We struggled mightily in the first half offensively with movement, but did enough to get a win. I thought Dee Parker and Aaron Rowe gave us a huge lift.
“We needed a game like this where we struggled but were still able to gut out a win,” he added. “Proud of our guys, but we got to play better going forward and trust each other more.”
Bryce Anderson led Whitley County with 14 points while Danny Ellis added 11 points, and Evans Ellis finished with 10 points.
Knox Central (3-1) was led in scoring by Austin Bargo, who finished with 18 points. Gavin Chadwell added 16 points, and 15 rebounds while Grayson Burton finished with 11 points, and six rebounds.
“Great team effort,” Knox Central coach Mitchell Madden said. “We are still learning and tweaking things, but we are so improved and play so hard. We missed 14 free throws that was the difference in the game.
“We were up six but then made a couple of turnovers, and had missed free throws which allowed them to take the lead,” he added. “Whitley is a really well-coached team, and a very good team, so hats off to them for a great game. I hope people are starting to give my kids some credit for their efforts and hard play. I think come tournament time we can be a hard out.”
