Warren East had the Dragons right where it wanted them at halftime. Once the second half started, the strengths of Warren Central flexed and the weakness of the Raiders was once again exposed.

A tight first half turned into a Dragons party with Warren Central controlling the second half of a 64-51 win Friday at Warren East High School.

Held to 22 points in the first half, Warren Central (13-7 overall, 5-2 District 14) went off for 25 points in the third quarter and led by as many as 17 for its fifth win in the last six games.

“Just time to take off,” Dragons guard Tegra Muleka said of the second-half start. “Coach put the starting five in and said to just go … we just took off from there.”

Warren Central shared the ball well with Dre Boyd scoring 17 points and Kobe Brents adding 11 points. Muleka and Aiyontre Pillow each had nine in Warren Central’s second win of the week, with Collins awaiting in Saturday’s Wes Strader Schoolboy Classic at 3 p.m.

The Dragons responded to last week’s 54-48 loss to Bowling Green with an 85-77 road win at Taylor County on Tuesday and Friday’s win at Warren East (10-13, 0-6).

Coach William Unseld said his team was able to generate offense that allowed them to run to its strengths.

“We put multiple stops and scored in transition,” Unseld said. “Taylor County ran with us, so the score is going to be high. East wasn’t going to run with us. I wouldn’t have either. They did the right thing trying to keep the game close so they could have a chance in the fourth quarter.”

Warren Central missed its first three shots before scoring on four straight possessions to move into an 11-8 lead. Although the Dragons didn’t score for over 3:30 to close out the quarter, Pillow hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the right corner for a 14-10 lead after one quarter.

Defense kept scoring in check in the second quarter with the Raiders moving into a zone and holding the Dragons to an 8-7 scoring edge for a five-point game at halftime.

“I thought it was our pace in the first half,” WEHS coach Brandon Combs said. “Thought we did a bang-up job defensively and held them to 22 points.”

The Dragons started firing in the second half.

An 11-4 run to open the third quarter made it 33-21 and a 9-2 run at the end of the quarter made it a 15-point game. The Dragons connected on 10-of-15 shots from the floor in the third quarter.

The Raiders hit the occasional triple in the fourth quarter that kept it a 10-point game, but the Dragons held on with free throws in the bonus for the win.

“District 14 road games are always tough,” Unseld said. “No matter who you play or what your record is, no matter what you beat them by, that game on the road is tough. I’m proud of my kids.

“We went into this week saying we could go 2-1 in those three games. We’re 2-0 right now, so we’ve got one to play with tomorrow. That’s a tournament game, so let’s just go play it and get better.”

Senior Adante Barber and freshman Kaleb Matlock each led Warren East with 15 points. The Raiders are winless in district play with South Warren and Bowling Green approaching next week.

“It’s putting together a 32-minute game against a real quality opponent and that’s what we’re lacking right now,” Combs said. “Any given night in this district, all five times if they’re hot in the next couple of weeks, they’re going to give themselves a chance.”

WCHS 14 8 25 17 – 64

WEHS 10 7 15 19 – 51

WCHS – Boyd 17, Brents 11, Muleka 9, Pillow 9, Bibb 8, Lawrence 7, Barber 3.

WEHS – Barber 15, Matlock 15, Wardlow 8, Carter 4, Wallace 4, Doyle 3, Sanders 2.

GIRLS

Warren East 54, Warren Central 29

Orlando Hayden likes how Warren East is meshing its different strengths. It’s helped the Lady Raiders win four of their last five after easing by Warren Central 54-29 for its second straight District 14 victory.

Hayden credited the bench for stepping up, the size of its post players working together and length and speed from guard play to allow Warren East (11-14 overall, 3-4 District 14) from never giving up the lead.

“I think our bench is picking up and playing a little bit better,” Hayden said. “Earlier in the season, we had a nucleus of five that could play from starting, but we fell off and substituted some from the bench and now that’s picking up a bit more. Our posts are playing better. When you get (Katelyn) Joiner, (Caroline) Forrester and (Kaylee) Miller playing together, they get you 20-something points and about 15 rebounds.”

Warren Central (0-21, 0-7) kept the Lady Raiders (11-14, 3-4) within a single-digit deficit until Warren East pulled away in the second half. Warren East got out to a quick 7-1 lead and the Lady Dragons didn’t hit a field goal until early in the second quarter.

The Lady Raiders never trailed and more than doubled their lead on Hailey Hymer’s 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter to make it 40-19.

Warren East has now won four of its last five games with district games against South Warren and Bowling Green coming up.

Lucy Patterson led the Lady Raiders with 14 points and four assists. Taelor Leach had nine points for Warren Central, which remains winless going into Saturday’s 3 p.m. game at Edmonson County.

WCHS 3 9 7 10 – 29

WEHS 11 10 12 21 – 54

WCHS – Leach 9, Lewis 7, Ray 6, Johnson 5, Shobe 2.

WEHS – Patterson 14, Forrester 12, Sparks 8, Joiner 5, Price 4, Miller 4, Hymer 3, Harrell 2, Bailey 2.{&end}