Warren East is starting to find its groove.
After starting the season 0-3, the Raiders have now reeled off back-to-back wins – and did so in the past 24 hours. They beat South Warren, 74-68, in double overtime on Friday night and then picked up right where they left off on Saturday afternoon with a hard-fought 54-50 victory over Owensboro Catholic in the Rafferty’s Shootout at South Warren High School.
“I told the kids to enjoy this victory all weekend and then we’ll come back in on Monday and focus on next week,” Warren East coach Brandon Combs said. “This was huge for our program. As you can tell, as each game goes, we’re getting a little bit more acclimated and a little bit more experienced. We’re certainly gonna enjoy this – they’re an extremely good team.”
Following a 28-point, 10-rebound performance on Friday, Tashawn Neal continued to be big for the Raiders (2-3, 1-0 District 14) on Saturday, recording a game-high 24 points to along with 10 rebounds.
That’s 52 points he has scored and 20 rebounds he has grabbed in the last two days – and both at SWHS.
“As much as I would like to play over here every game, I gotta carry it over to any gym I go to,” Neal said.
Owensboro Catholic jumped out to an 8-0 lead at the 6:27 mark of the first quarter after back-to-back three-pointers by Luke Hayden. Neal responded with three deep balls of his own and then split a pair of free throws to cut Warren East’s deficit to 18-13.
After one, the Aces held a 20-17 lead over the Raiders, as Neal was already up to 13 points while Hayden had 10. Hayden finished with 21 points and rebounds to carry Catholic.
Warren East tied it at 23-23 at the four-minute mark of the second after Treante Patterson converted an and-one. Throughout the remainder of the half, the two sides exchanged mostly free throws and Owensboro Catholic took a slim 30-27 lead into the locker room at the break.
After two quarters of action, Hayden was leading all scorers with 15.
“We kind of had a lead there in the second quarter and kind of let it get away from us right before the half because we got into some foul trouble and we’re getting some kids some experience, Combs said. “Tashawn packed us again early. We started the game different than we normally do – we had to take the ACT this morning.”
Just like Friday night in the Raiders’ win over South Warren, Neal continued to play at a high level in the second half, swishing two early threes from the right corner to put East up 33-30. Another three for the Raiders – this one by Adante Barber – made it 36-34 with 4:33 remaining in third.
Another three from Neal with under a minute left in the period put Warren East up by six at 41-35. The Raiders went on to add four more points to their side of the scoreboard to hold a 45-38 advantage entering the fourth.
“I’m a senior and I’m one of the best scorers we have,” said Neal. “Coach is counting on me this year, so I’ve gotta pick up the team and do what I’ve gotta do.”
Thomas Maxey’s layup off the left side of the glass after a run up the lane gave the Raiders a 47-42 lead with 3:57 left. A pair of free throws by Maxey then made it 49-44, but a Hayden bucket under the goal cut the Aces’ deficit to just one at 49-48 with 46.1 seconds remaining.
Off a steal, Hayden scored again to give Catholic the lead, but Treante Patterson was fouled and made both free throws to put Warren East back in front at 51-50 with 19 seconds left. The Raiders were able to stay in front for the remainder of the contest and picked up a defining win.
“For us to step up in the second half and kind of fill that void in the first half, I’m just extremely excited for our program,” said Combs. “We still have a way to go, but we’re taking steps in the right direction. Hopefully this is something we continue to build on.”
Senior writer Tyler Mansfield can be reached at mansfield.sportingtimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at @_TylerMansfield.
