Junior Josiah Railey fights a passed defender to score.
Watauga High School Men’s Basketball advanced to the conference championship after defeating Freedom High School on Thursday, Feb. 22.
Both teams fought back-and-forth throughout the first quarter, trading three-point shots, and driving down the court. Eventually, the Patriots pulled away, finishing the quarter up 19-14.
The second quarter was a tale of similar fates as both teams piled on the score until the tense first half ended with the Patriots leading once again, holding a narrow 32-31 lead.
Center Jackson Pryor, senior, began catching fouls early in the game, garnering three in just the first half. Coach Bryson Payne subbed him for the sophomore backup Brady Lindenmuth, who proved advantageous for the Pioneers as well.
“We never want him to get into foul trouble,” Coach Payne said. “But I thought Brady stepped up and did a really good job of battling on the boards and playing defense, coming in and doing what we needed him to do.”
The two teams would continue to trade blows both on offense and defense, keeping the score even-keel throughout the third quarter. Then, junior Josiah Railey had a momentum-shifting dunk that would ultimately spark inspiration for the Pioneers.
“That was the energy that got us up and ready to win that game and get us ahead,” said Railey.
After the signature dunk by Railey, the Pioneers poured on to the score, tallying 27 points in the fourth quarter alone. Junior Maddox Greene helped to lead the way, applying pressure to the Patriot defense when their focus was on his other teammates.
“They were playing off, so it just helped me drive easier, and my teammates like Cade [Keller] were getting face guarded, so less defenders were guarding me the whole time,” Greene said.
Watauga (overall record 20-5, conference record 9-1) faced Alexander Central (overall record 12-14, conference record 4-6) for the conference championship on Feb. 23, winning the overall championship 63-56. Senior Wyatt Kohout led the team in points (19), followed by junior Maddox Greene (17), who was once again double digits in points scored for back-to-back games.
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