CORBIN — History was made Thursday at The Arena.
Behind a balanced offensive attack and a dominant second half, Whitley County rolled past Pineville 76-48 in the opening round of the 13th Region Boys’ Basketball Tournament. The victory marked the Colonels’ first regional tournament win since 1974.
“Great win for our program,” Whitley County coach Eric Swords said. “I thought our three seniors really stepped up and played well. Our defensive pressure from our guards really wore them down and allowed them to gap us.
“Fifty-two years is a long time between region tournament wins,” he added. “You never want to put that burden on the kids but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t something that ate at me since I’ve been here, so that’s huge for our program and community. Now got to get ready for a big time test versus Bell County.”
Whitley County (21-11) gradually built momentum throughout the night before breaking the game open in the second half. The Colonels held a slim 11-6 lead after the first quarter and carried a 25-17 advantage into halftime before erupting after the break.
The third quarter proved to be the turning point.
Whitley County outscored Pineville 25-13 in the period to push the lead to 50-30 entering the final quarter. The Colonels continued to control the game down the stretch, adding 26 points in the fourth to seal the 28-point victory.
Garrett Sharp led the Colonels with 18 points while Bryson Mahan added 16 points and Henry Bowling chipped in 14. Riley Fuson also reached double figures with 12 points as Whitley County placed four players in double digits.
The Colonels shot 33-of-58 from the floor (56.9 percent), including 7-of-15 from three-point range, while also winning the rebounding battle 26-23.
Pineville (14-18) was led by Noah Slone with 13 points. Preston Zachery and Anderson Gentry added 11 points each for the Mountain Lions.
Whitley County led 11-6 after the first quarter and 25-17 at halftime before using the decisive third-quarter surge to take control of the game.
