After two close battles in the regular season against crosstown rival Eminence, Henry County left no room for speculation on Tuesday night in the 31st District Tournament quarterfinals.
The Wildcats scored the first 12 points of the game and used scoring runs of 17-2 and 16-0 to build a comfortable lead and defeat the Warriors 69-23.
“That is the way we expected to play all season. Our guys have really been focused and locked in on the details over the last couple of weeks, and they want this. So it’s on them and we’ll go as far as they want to go in this tournament,” said Henry County head coach Derek Tingle.
Henry County started the game aggressively on both ends of the floor and used a swarming press to contain the Warriors early. “I’m really proud of them defensively mainly tonight. I think they really executed the concepts we’ve been working on, the rotations we’ve been working on and we’ll continue to work on them and get better,” said Tingle.
With the defensive pressure limiting Eminence’s offense, the Wildcats quickly found an offensive rhythm.
Baylor Nolin scored eight of the first 12 points for the Wildcats, including two 3-pointers. Traevon Wright and Blaik Nation also added two points each in the opening 12-0 run.
Kenien Foree broke Eminence’s dry spell with a three and Brady White knocked down two free throws to trim the margin to 14-5 with 2:57 left.
The Wildcats picked up their energy late in the period and scored the final seven points of the first quarter.
Nolin and Drew Cole dropped in putbacks and JJ Purvis connected on a layup after a steal to send Henry County into the second quarter with a 21-5 lead.
Purvis followed up his first quarter finale play with an assist to Cole for a shot down low in the opening 20 seconds of the second period. Nolin and Cole added layups to boost the margin to 22 before White stopped the mini run with a layup of his own to bring the score to 27-7.
After White’s basket, Henry County furthered its momentum with 11 straight points. The Wildcats forced several Warriors turnovers and attacked the basket well during the surge.
After two straight layups from Nolin closed out the run, White dropped in a shot on the right block to cut the lead to 38-9.
Yet, Nolin answered a minute later with a three and Nation added a free throw to move the Wildcats in front by 33.
Wright sank a jumper in the paint with 1:38 remaining in the first half to close out a 17-2 run that put Henry County ahead 44-9.
White put Eminence on the board one last time in the first half with a steal for a layup to cut the margin to 44-11 at the break.
Henry County kept its foot on the gas in the third quarter and scored the first 16 points to prompt a running clock. Jordan King opened with two straight layups before Nolin sandwiched two 3-pointers around a Wright jumper.
Morgan Wilson chipped in a layup as well and Purvis buried a layup off a steal at the end of the scoring run to put Henry County in front 60-11.
Nick Mitchell came in off the bench for the Warriors and knocked down a corner three for Eminence’s first points of the third quarter at the 2:10 mark.
Landen Tingle countered with a three of his own before Cooper Holland dropped in a hook shot with 42 seconds left.
King added one final shot from the left block with three seconds remaining to boost the Wildcat lead to 65-16 going into the final period.Eminence continued to battle and outscored Henry County in the fourth quarter.
The Warriors earned the first five points of the period, including a free throw and a steal for a layup from White and a shot in the paint by Anthony Gay.
Isaac Abney interrupted the run with a shot on the left block before Gay added a runner with 1:31 remaining.
River King stepped in late in the game for Henry County and nailed a baseline runner to cap off the Wildcats’ win and move the final margin to 46 points.
Nolin finished with five 3-pointers and a team-high 25 points for Henry County. Wright and Cole added eight points apiece as well.
White led the Warriors with 11 points and Gay ended with four points.
With the loss, Eminence concludes the season with a 4-22 record.
Henry County advanced to the district semifinals against Owen County on Thursday night. The Wildcats split the regular season series with the Rebels, but Tingle expressed confidence in his team ahead of Thursday’s game.
“We feel like we’re the best team in the district and we’ll have a plan. We’ll be ready. Owen is a really good team. They’re playing really good right now too, but we’ll be ready,” said Tingle.
“If our guys stay locked in and execute the way that they should, I like our chances.”