Warren East 38 South Warren 30

[DragonFire]

It wasn't very pretty, but Warren East snapped a 16 game postseason losing streak with a win in the 4/5 game of the 14th District tournament. Warren East's last postseason win was March 21st, 1997, a 70-63 win over Corbin in the Sweet 16 quarterfinals. East then lost their next 16 postseason contests, including two in a three team district format in 1998.

 

It didn't come easy tonight, as they were deadlocked with the Spartans at 8 all after one and 12 all at halftime. The Spartans played a deliberate tempo and the Raiders were unable to knock them out of that. But the tide began to turn with 30 seconds left in the first half. The Raiders had been held scoreless for the entire second quarter and trailed 12-8. They scored the last 4 points of the half and then the first 9 of the second half and never trailed or were tied again, leading 26-18 after three. That 8 point advantage in the third quarter ended up being the difference as the teams had the same points scored in the 1st, 2nd, and 4th quarters.

 

The Raiders advance to the semifinals where they will meet Bowling Green, the #1 seed via tiebreaker in the 14th District. The Purples are both the best and worst for the Raiders. Warren East played the Purples close in both matchups during the regular season, going to double OT and falling by four in the first game, and trailing by only four before fading late to lose by 10 in the second game. But Bowling Green is also a team the Raiders have lost an unbelievable 34 straight to. They haven't beaten the Purples since 1998.

[gold sunrise]

Been 16 years...WOW. Congrats on a huge win!!!!