WILLIAMSBURG — Eric Swords’ Whitley County Colonels moved one step closer to the 50th District’s top seed with a 92-80 victory over Corbin on Tuesday.
The 12-point victory marked the first time since 2015, and only the second time dating back to 1997 that the Colonels have won both regular season matchups against the Redhounds.
“Great win for our guy,” Swords said. “We had 5 in double figures, shared the ball and played with great poise. I thought Caleb Cureton played some huge minutes for us. Corbin has a lot of physicality and he was able to help negate that some.
“Coach Pietrowski has a good physical team,” he added. “I got a ton of respect for him, so anytime you can get a win vs them it’s big. It puts us at 4-1 in the district, with a big matchup left vs South Laurel.”
Whitley County had leads of 24-12 after the first quarter, 35-30 at halftime, and 58-52 entering the fourth quarter before reeling in the win by outscoring Corbin, 34-28, during the final eight minutes.
The Colonels knocked down 10 3-pointers in the win as Tootie Mahan scored 23 points while hitting two 3-pointers. Henry Bowling and Levi Jackson both had 19 points apiece while Jackson knocked down three long-range shots. Riley Fuson hit two 3-pointers and scored 17 points while Dee Parker hit three 3-pointers, finishing with 12 points.
The loss dropped Corbin to 8-9, and 2-2 in 50th District play.
“Didn’t play well enough defensively to give ourselves a chance to win,” Corbin coach Tony Pietrowski said. “Hats off to them. They deserved the win tonight.
“It’ll be important we regroup mentally and continue to work towards being the best team we can be,” he added. “There are plenty of opportunities for great things ahead of us.”
Lucas Brittain led the Redhounds with 20 points and three 3-pointers while Evan Ellis scored 19 points. Eli Pietrowski tallied 17 points while Trey Person finished with 15 points and one 3-pointer.
