It may have been a midweek January game, but there was plenty of motivation for Kash Carter and the rest of the Warren Central boys’ basketball team during Tuesday’s win against visiting Barren County.

The Trojans stunned the Dragons in the opening round of last year’s Region 4 Tournament, ending Warren Central’s run of three straight region titles. Carter admitted the Dragons were looking for revenge in Tuesday’s meeting.

“It was in the back of our mind in March camp, all through training,” Carter said. “It was in the back of our mind.”

Warren Central was able to get that motivation back in a big fashion, rolling to an 87-55 win over the Trojans. The Dragons were hot from 3-point range in an explosive second quarter, taking complete control and cruising to the win.

“I hadn’t talked about it, but … they are teenagers and I am sure they thought about it,” Warren Central coach Unseld said. “Last year we beat them 20 something, but get in the tournament and the tournament is a different animal. I try not to take this game way up here because maybe if we are lucky enough to get there we will play them again. We will have to be ready to go again.”

Barren County (9-4) survived an early barrage from Warren Central, trimming a 12-5 deficit down to 15-12 after one quarter.

The next wave proved to be a tsunami that the Trojans would never recover from. Warren Central (11-1) opened the second quarter with a 24-2 run to take a commanding 39-14 advantage. The Dragons relied on the lethal pairing of a strong defense that forced a handful of turnovers and hot shooting from long distance – with Warren Central hitting six of its first seven 3-pointers in the quarter.

Unseld said wearing Barren County down was the key to the huge run.

“We are not pressing to steal it all the time,” Unseld said. “We are just trying to wear you down. Those shots get shorter and shorter as the game goes on. Early in the game, you are fresh. You are going to make some plays. That’s OK with us because we are going to come right back. All of a sudden those plays aren’t as quick and sharp. Basketball is all about making shots. They missed some and were a little fatigued and we were able to get it out and get up and score in transition.”

The Trojans were able to stem the tide slightly with an 8-0 spurt late in the half, but still trailed 41-22 at the break. Warren Central continued to pull away in the second half. Carter, who missed the previous two games due to the flu, fueled the offensive attack – hitting his first seven 3s before finally missing on his last attempt from long range.

Carter finished with 26 points for the Dragons, who led by as many as 40 in the second half.

“I still had a cough,” Carter said. “It was crazy. I didn’t know I would come in and be this hot. Any night can be your night, so you have to be ready.”

Carter was one of five Dragons to finish in double figures, with Warren Central shooting 48%, 14-for-33 from 3.

Kaleb Prince finished with 14 points. Armani Byrd had 11 points and seven rebounds, while KJ Johnson and Dominique Anthony added 10 points each.

“The scary part is we are starting to figure things out offensively,” Unseld said. “We’ve struggled offensively, but we’ve won defensively. We are starting to figure out offensively where we can get the ball, where guys can move and score. I think we will be a little more dangerous going forward.”

Weston Shelton led Barren County with 16 points. Kade Hardy had 12 points, while Gavin Nunn added 11 points and eight rebounds.

“It’s kind of like a snowball,” Barren County coach Warren Cunningham said. “When it starts to snowball, it is tough to stop it. We never could get it stopped after they got it going a little bit. We went through a long stretch there in the second quarter where we didn’t score. You can’t do that against teams like that.”

BCHS 12 10 17 16 – 55

WCHS 15 26 30 16 – 87

BC – Shelton 16, Hardy 12, Nunn 11, Browning 6, Byrd 4, Griggs 3, Pippen 3.

WC – Carter 26, Prince 14, Byrd 11, Johnson 10, Anthony 10, Duncan 5, Ra. Hulbert 4, Ry. Hulbert 3, McCombs 2, Hoosier 2.

Girls

Barren County 55, Warren Central 14

Shelby Byrd had 21 points to lead the Trojanettes past the host Lady Dragons.

Barren County (13-2) opened with a 15-0 run and led 30-4 by halftime. The Trojanettes had 11 players score, shooting 41% with nine 3s.

Regina Basham led Warren Central (3-11) with six points, while Myra Mayberry added five points and 14 rebounds.

BCHS 15 15 17 8 – 55

WCHS 0 4 4 6 – 14

BC – Byrd 21, Harris 7, Burton 6, Bragg 4, Kaumanns 3, Wilson 3, McFall 3, Slagle 2, Atkinson 2, H. Wilson 2, R. Wilson 2.

WC – Basham 6, Mayberry 5, Bailey 2, Tisdale 1.