FRANKLIN – The Franklin-Simpson boys’ basketball team got into the win column for the first time this season with a 60-54 victory over visiting Warren East on Monday.

Franklin-Simpson (1-3) set a season high in points, using a strong finish to pull away from Warren East in a back-and-forth affair where neither team led by more than six points.

“They got the goose egg off the board,” Franklin-Simpson coach Dee Spencer said. “That makes things a little bit easier, but we’ve still got a long way to go. We have to do a little better job closing people out. We missed a lot of layups, uncontested shots, but I am happy the way the guys came out and were able to finish it.”

In a game that featured 10 lead changes, eight in the second half, the Wildcats were able to make the plays down the stretch to preserve the win.

Warren East (3-3) hit five 3-pointers in the first quarter to build a 17-13 advantage, but the Raiders were held to two 3s the rest of the way.

Franklin-Simpson scored the first six points in the second quarter to surge in front and continued to hold the advantage – taking a 26-25 lead into the locker room.

The Raiders went back in front in the third, stretching the margin to 37-33 before a 9-0 run gave the lead back to Franklin early in the fourth period. The teams exchanged the lead four times in a two-minute span until Franklin used an 8-1 spurt to take a 54-48 lead with 1:22 left.

Warren East got as close as 56-54 after a three-point play by Thomas Maxey with 29.5 seconds remaining, but was unable to get any closer.

DeMarco Chatman led the Wildcats with 21 points.

“It feels good to get over that hump,” Chatman said. “It feels good to get that first win. Now I think we can get things going.”

Jevon Covington added 12 points and Andreyous Miller finished with 11 points.

Mikiah Vondracek led Warren East with 12 points, while Tatum Simmons added 10 points.

“We are very inconsistent,” Warren East coach Brandon Combs said. “We’ve had an opportunity to win every game. I can’t fault my kids’ effort. We are playing hard. We are making mistakes, but we are playing hard.”

Warren East will play at Allen County-Scottsville at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Franklin-Simpson will play at Warren Central in the opening round of the Kentucky 2A Championship at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

WEHS 17 8 12 17 – 54

FSHS 13 13 15 19 – 60

WE – Vandracek 12, Simmons 10, Barber 9, Carter 9, Wallace 8, Maxey 5, Blaine 1.

FS – Chatman 21, Covington 12, Miller 11, Partinger 6, Harris 5, Knight 3, McKinney 2.

Warren East 42, Franklin-Simpson 41, girls

Tanaya Bailey’s bucket broke a tie with 18 seconds left as the Lady Raiders won for the first time this season.

“She came up big for us,” Warren East coach Orlando Hayden said. “It was good for her and good for our team. Like I told them at the end of the game, ‘You have to learn how to win ball games at the end.’ ”

The Lady Cats controlled most of the first half, but the second half was a back-and-forth affair with five ties and six lead changes.

Franklin-Simpson (1-3) took the lead on a basket by Lauren Johnson late in the first quarter and led by as many as five before Warren East (1-6) cut the halftime deficit to 19-16.

Hailey Hymer heated up in the third quarter, scoring nine points for Warren East, including a 3 as time expired that gave the Lady Raiders a 32-30 advantage.

Lucy Patterson’s layup extended the margin to four, but Franklin-Simpson went on an 8-0 run to make the score 38-34 with 5:28 left.

The Lady Raiders scored the next two points – with Bailey’s two free throws pushing Warren East in front 40-38 with 2:02 remaining.

The Lady Cats tied it on a layup by C.C. Carver with 1:18 left, but Bailey’s runner one minute later gave Warren East the lead for good.

Franklin had a chance to tie with Carver at the line for two free throws with 2.8 seconds left. Carver missed the first, but her attempt to intentionally miss the second free throw banked in and the Lady Raiders were able to run out the clock.

Patterson and Hymer paced the Lady Raiders with 11 points each. Kate Norwood led Franklin-Simpson with 17 points, while Evyn McCutchen added 10 points.

Franklin-Simpson’s three losses have been by a combined five points.

“That’s been the result three different times,” Franklin-Simpson coach Lex Lindsey said. “We are kind of shooting ourselves in the foot – not knowing the situation like we need to. That is part of the process. Last year this team beat us by two touchdowns both times. This time it was a missed point after.”

Franklin-Simpson will play at Edmonson County at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. Warren East will play at Allen County-Scottsville at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

WEHS 9 7 16 10 – 42

FSHS 11 8 11 11 – 41

WE – Patterson 11, Hymer 11, Bailey 6, Sparks 4, Forrester 4, Joiner 3, Price 3.

FS – Norwood 17, McCutchen 10, Carver 7, Johnson 4, Trout 2, Doran 1.{&end}