WILLIAMSBURG — The rivalry between Whitley County and Williamsburg was renewed on Friday, and that might just be an understatement.
It was a game that had it all — the feel of a postseason matchup, a back and forth contest, technicals, and assistant coach ejections.
It had it all.
And in the end, Whitley County did just enough to pull out a 73-65 win over the Yellow Jackets.
The Colonels moved to 14-7 overall and 2-3 against 50th District competition while Williamsburg is now 12-7 and 0-5.
“Extremely proud of our kids,” Whitley County coach Eric Swords said. “We went into a Hostile environment and came away with a good district win. (Aaron) Rowe was dominant in the game, and did a great job leading us. Just extremely proud of our guys the way we represented our school and program.”
Whitley County held an 11-10 advantage entering the second quarter but the Yellow Jackets fought back and tied the game at 24 apiece entering halftime.
The Colonels received two big 3-pointers by Levi Jackson in the third quarter combined with nine points from Aaron Rowe to take a 49-46 edge into the fourth quarter.
Whitley County hit 8-of-14 free throw attempts down the stretch to secure the win.
Bryson Mahan led the Colonels with 17 points while Rowe added 16 points. Henry Bowling scored 14 points while Jackson and Dee Parker added eight points apiece.
Andrew Smith led Williamsburg with 19 points while Lakin Cunagin scored 13 points. Reece Hatcher also scored in double figures with 10 points.
“Really proud of our guys, tonight,” Williamsburg coach Anthony Hibbard said. “Obviously, not the result we wanted, but we feel like we made a big turnaround from our first matchup. Credit to Whitley County for making plays at end of the game to push out their lead. We have to regroup and continue to trend in the right direction.”
