The Warriors lost at home last week to the Tucker County Mountain Lions, 70-58. The Warriors played hard throughout the night, even bringing the score to within three points in an exciting fourth quarter surge.

"In the second half at one point we were down by 18, we weren't being efficient there. I was real proud of the kids and their efforts, getting back down to three points. We had the ball and a shot to tie it up, but couldn't get it to go," said Warrior coach Bob Sheets. "Tucker of course being a good basketball team, they finished strong. I thought it was a real good test."

The game was the first time the Warriors faced off with the Mountain Lions this season but they're scheduled to play again at Tucker County on February 3.

Senior Jed Sheets was the Warrior high scorer with 25 points. Sheets was four-for-four from the three-point line and brought in three rebounds. Forward Skylar Knisely scored nine points and pulled in one rebound. Forward Dillon Kelley scored eight points, shot two-for-two from the foul line, and stole the ball twice. Warrior Guard Steve Halterman scored six points and snagged three rebounds for the Warriors. Senior Matthew Arbogast contributed five points and three assists. Center Jesse Taylor sank a three-pointer and grabbed one rebound. Warrior guard Curtis Pyles scored two points, grabbed two rebounds and had one steal. Freshman Guard Carey Robertson contributed a steal, as well.

The Warriors played the Greenbrier West Cavaliers two days later at home, and were handed another loss, 63-57.

"It was a disappointing outcome. We had an eight point lead; we had an 11 point lead, but they came back with their strength on the inside. The one kid was 6' 7", it was hard to match up with him. Fatigue was a factor. We also had some foul trouble," said Sheets in a phone interview later in the week.

In spite of the loss, Sheets did like the intensity the squad exhibited.

"I was really happy with our offensive aggression. We ran better offense than when we played against Tucker," he said. "It was good ballgame, a six point loss, but it was a good game for the fans. I think it was a good learning experience for our kids as far as seeing how they could function against a bigger basketball team."

Forward Dillon Kelley was the team scoring leader with 20 points, snagging eight rebounds and stealing the ball once. Forward Skylar Knisely contributed 15 points and grabbed three rebounds, stole the ball once and had one assist. Guard Jed Sheets scored 11 points, pulled in three rebounds, blocked two shots, stole the ball twice and had six assists. Center Jesse Taylor scored seven points, brought in four rebounds and blocked two Cavalier shots. Guard Steve Halterman scored four points, grabbed four rebounds and stole the ball once.

The two losses leave the Warriors with a season record of 5-6, but Sheets is undeterred and plans to modify the Warrior's strategy a bit.

"You know, you don't want to be 5-6. Some of the games, we've had the lead. We've been in situations where we could've won, and we didn't. That's something we'll just have to work on," said Sheets. "We'll have a week to sort of retool and build before we play on February 1 against Tygarts Valley. We'll tweak a few things."

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