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Warren boys win big on senior night vs. Cambridge

By Josh Hughes 3 min read

VINCENT -- Warren rolled out the red carpet for its seniors, as senior night in Vincent saw the Warriors pull away from Cambridge for a 66-31 win in Friday night.

Head coach Blaine Maddox deviated from the usual starting lineup and inserted a group of five seniors who made their mark on the program: Trent Dowler, Brennan Perdue, Hunter Hanes, Trent Fox and Dennis Pettey. Brayden Sallee and Caleb Davis volunteered to sit out so that every senior could get at least one start this season, and in the case of Sallee, he made an immediate impact when he subbed in for Fox.

He roared out of the gate with four minutes left in the first and scored the first nine Warren points, as the Warriors worked out of an early hole. Sallee finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, as he, alongside Trent Taylor (who had a game-high 24 points to go with his 10 rebounds), counteracted the early sharpshooting of Cambridge's Caleb Bond. For his efforts, Bond tallied all 12 of his points in the first half, but that was all the visitors had to offer.

Taylor and Sallee combined for the first 25 points of the contest, and it was the duo of Brennan Perdue and Ayden Cornell who scored on back-to-back CHS turnovers with inside a minute to play in the half. Those scores gave Warren a 29-18 advantage going into the locker room, and the blue and white never looked back.

It was a great warmup for Maddox's bunch ahead of Friday's sectional final against New Lexington in Vincent. Following the game, Maddox and his seniors grabbed a mic and talked to the fans who stayed after the blowout was over. Maddox implored fans to attend that contest and to "sell this place out."

While the first quarter saw WHS hampered by turnovers, hot shooting and good decision-making gave the home team the lift it needed. By the end of the first half, Warren shot 61 percent from the floor. The percentage dipped down to 57, but that was due to Warren getting more shots up, overall. It was the kind of win that can further boost momentum for Warren (16-6), as the team looks for revenge against New Lexington. On Dec. 21, the Panthers came away with a 54-49 road win, but with the stakes now much higher. Maddox says his team is right where it needs to be in order to come out on top.

"They would not quit when things got tough," Maddox said to the crowd about his seniors. "They picked themselves up, and I like them. I am so proud of this team, and I told you I'm not allowed to pick favorites, but you guys were up-up-up-up --up here! I've still got a lot of coaching to do with you. I'm going to miss you. Boy, this has been a fast year. Parents, you set the tone, and I know not everyone was happy with coach Maddox every night, but you hung in there, you stuck with your son, you looked out for the program. That's what makes this program the only place I'll ever want to work."

Despite the slow first quarter, Warren finished with just a dozen turnovers and held Cambridge to 34 percent from the floor. Those are numbers that bode well for the New Lexington game, as the most points scored by the Panthers (12-7) in a win was when they scored 60 twice (Nov. 27 vs. Licking Valley and on Dec. 30 vs. Nelsonville-York).

Contact Josh Hughes at jhughes@newsandsentinel.com

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