Warrenton beats St. Clair to win fourth straight game

John Rohlf, Sports Editor
Posted 12/21/22

The Warrenton Warriors used a 7-0 run to end the second quarter and a 9-3 run to begin the third quarter to put away St. Clair and win their fourth consecutive game. 

Warrenton (6-4) beat St. …

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Warrenton beats St. Clair to win fourth straight game

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The Warrenton Warriors used a 7-0 run to end the second quarter and a 9-3 run to begin the third quarter to put away St. Clair and win their fourth consecutive game. 

Warrenton (6-4) beat St. Clair (2-3) 60-43 to win their sixth game of the season. Junior guard Troy Anderson led the Warriors with 25 points in the win. Deadrick Forrest added 12 points to Warrenton. 

The Warriors went on a 7-0 run to end the second quarter after the Bulldogs trimmed the Warrior lead to four at 23-19. Deadrick Forrest’s three-point play extended the Warrior lead to seven points. Deacon Forrest and Kannon Hibbs each scored a bucket off the bench to give Warrenton a 30-19 lead heading into halftime. 

Anderson scored seven of Warrenton’s first nine points coming out of halftime. He led off the half with a three pointer and finished off the Warrior’s 9-3 run coming out of halftime with a pair of two-point baskets. Mason Thompson also scored a basket during Warrenton’s 9-3 run that gave them a 39-22 lead less than two minutes into the second half. 

“We talked about at half a scrappy team like that, they never give up,” Warrenton boys basketball coach Mark Thomas said. “They battle. And they’re always going to be after it. We had to come out and execute our stuff early so that way we could push it a little farther so that way it may not be a game. We thought that they wouldn’t quit no matter how far it got but we didn’t want to give them any life to start the second half.”

After trying to play man-to-man defense early in the game, the Warriors switched to a couple different zone defenses throughout the rest of the game. Thomas noted the Bulldogs were finding success against the Warriors’ man-to-man defense early in the first half. 

“I’m a man-to-man defensive guy by nature,” Thomas said. “So it makes me sick to my stomach to run so much zone. I tell the guys that all the time. You guys got to get better at it. We’re just not very good at it right now. So that’s something we have to address and work on in practice. You’re going to need man-to-man in basketball.”

Thomas thinks the Warriors did a pretty good job executing the zone defenses throughout the game. He noted the benefits of having multiple zone defenses at their disposal to give opposing offenses different looks, even when they are not able to execute their man-to-man defense. 

Monday’s win followed Warrenton’s 54-46 win over Francis Howell North late last week. Anderson led the Warriors with 25 points and 11 rebounds in the road win. Tyler Oliver added 13 points and nine rebounds. 

“I think the win Friday night against Francis Howell North was really good for us because we never really had a huge lead,” Thomas said. “But it was enough to stay ahead. But then they cut it to three and we battled through. And we’re starting to get it to where how to play the game depending on what the time and score is.”

Warrenton was scheduled to host conference foe Orchard Farm Wednesday.


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