BOONE — On Saturday, Jan. 21, the Watauga High School freshmen Pioneers boy’s basketball squad earned their first win in the last game of their season by defeating the East Wilkes freshmen Cardinals, 45-39.
The Pioneers stymied the Cardinals early, allowing only one player to notch points for East Wilkes. Meanwhile, for Watauga, Julian Miranda-Aponte drained two shots from behind the arc while Chris Moore hit a three as well. Logan Kerley and Will Leist also got their names in the scorebook to help the Pioneers take a 15-4 lead after the first quarter.
Watauga slowed down in the second quarter with Kyle Williams scoring the only points for the home team as he tallied four. On the other end of the court, the Cardinals managed nine points as the Pioneers clung to a 19-13 advantage at the break.
Coming out of halftime, Watauga got their offense back on track and scored 14 in the third frame. Troy Wilson nailed a pair of baskets from deep as Williams and Moore added to the Pioneers production, holding the lead at 33-22 going into the final quarter.
The Cardinals did not go down quietly however, as the visitors put together a furious comeback attempt and scored 17 in the fourth quarter to push Watauga right to the brink.
Miranda-Aponte came up clutch for the Pioneers late though, dropping 6 more points to bring his total for the afternoon to a game-high 14. Wilson hit another triple and Moore sank 3-of-4 free throws to help clinch the 45-39 victory.
The freshmen boys had a limited schedule this season, with only six games originally scheduled. Some of those games were postponed or canceled. Their efforts finally paid off in this one — the last planned game of the year for the squad.
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