Sports
Evan French Too Much For Athens
By: Emily Rorris, Kellen Becoats
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With revenge on their minds, the Athens Bulldogs travelled to Jim Myers Gymnasium in Logan Friday night to be a part history repeating itself. Once again the Warren Warriors put an end to the Bulldogs’ season, ending their tournament run with a 83-61 victory.
Both crowds were on their feet in the sold-out gym as Ryan Luehrman knocked down the first bucket. The Bulldogs then went on a 7-0 run to dominate the game for the first two minutes. Then the Warriors hit their stride, making that Athens only run of the game.
They finished the first quarter tied at 10 and after tying it at 14 the Warriors went on a 14-0 run, finishing the half up 44-21. Their leading scorer, Evan French, had 28 points in the first half and finished the night with 37 points and six rebounds. When asked about his impressive game he responded, “It’s all in my teammates, in the end you have to play team ball.”
While the Bulldog effort was there, Warren outshined them with their impressive shots and all around greater physicality. Junior Michael Hall picked up three free throws and finished with 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Ibi Watson started the second half, sinking two free throws. The crowd fell silent only for a moment after a rare basket interference call on Watson which cost the Bulldogs an easy two. Watson finished the night with 18 points while Joe Burrow picked up 10 points and 3 rebounds.
Athens’ weakness was their poor offensive performance. They had 16 turnovers and their leading scorers’ shooting percentages were less than 40, while Warren’s were almost 60.
It was a disappointing loss for the Bulldogs who had expected this to be a much closer game and a battle of the killer offenses.
With this loss, the boys are eliminated from post-season play. They move to 17-4 hoping to pick up a final victory against Meigs in a makeup game on Monday, February 24. Warren moves on to the district semifinals on Friday, February 28.