South Warren’s debut in the Boys’ Region 4 Boys’ Basketball Tournament was a successful one, with the Spartans prevailing 57-44 over Logan County on Wednesday at E.A. Diddle Arena.

South Warren (18-10) scored 28 points off turnovers, most coming in transition, to power past Logan County and move on to Monday’s semifinal round.

“I am very proud of my guys,” South Warren coach Carlos Quarles said. “I think we guarded on a high level. When you are playing on an unfamiliar court, a college court like this, your defense has got to carry you a little bit to get us going. I thought we had the jitters a little bit early. Once we settled down and continued to guard on a high level, that gave us a great chance and got us separation tonight.”

South Warren’s first region tournament game got off to a rocky start, but the Spartans were able to get momentum right before halftime and build from there.

Logan County (20-11) jumped out to an early 8-3 lead before the Spartans scored seven straight to surge in front late in the first quarter. A bucket from JB Mctire tied the score 10-10 after one, with the Cougars using a 9-4 spurt to open the second and push ahead 19-14.

South Warren closed the half with an 11-0 run to move back in front 25-19, powered by a strong defensive push that led to multiple layups off steals. The Spartans scored the first two baskets of the second half, a layup by Clay Willis and a steal and layup from Owen Shively to extend the run and push the advantage to 29-19.

Logan County was able to whittle the deficit down to 31-28 late in the third, but South Warren quickly responded with an 11-1 run to get the margin back into double digits early in the fourth. Logan County got as close as six points twice in the fourth, but was unable to get any closer.

“As we got a lead in the fourth I wanted to be patient on offense, but not stop playing,” Quarles said. “We wanted to space them out because I felt like we had an advantage with our ball handlers that we could get to the basket and get layups. High-percentage shots, things of that nature.”

Jax Decker led the Spartans with 14 points, while Shively added 13 points.

“We just used our defense to get us going,” Decker said. “We couldn’t hit shots and we really couldn’t all game. We just used our defense and rallied off that.”

Davis Switzer led Logan County with 19 points, while Mctire added 15 points.

“I felt like every time we made a run they would answer back or we would turn the basketball over,” Logan County coach Josh Frick said. “Twenty turnovers is way too many. This time of year you need to be about eight or less and we were way more than eight. Hats off to them. It felt like they just made big plays when it mattered most.”

South Warren advances to face Monroe County at 8 p.m. on Monday, with the winner earning the program’s first ever trip to the region finals. The Falcons defeated South Warren 58-53 in December.

“We are going to come here and show up,” Quarles said. “It’s not a participation for us. We are trying to win.”

SWHS 10 15 13 19 – 57

LCHS 10 9 10 15 – 44

SW – Decker 14, Shively 13, Perkins 7, McIntyre 7, Pratt 6, Willis 6, Knight 4.

LC – Switzer 19, Mctire 15, Tichenor 5, Goodloe 2, Helle 2, Washington 1.