BELFRY, Ky. - The Williamson Wolfpack crossed the Tug River into Pirate territory on Tuesday night to battle an old rival. The Belfry Pirates welcomed the challenge. Each team impressed the crowd with its tenaciousness up and down the court. When the final buzzer went off, however, the homestanding Pirates held the edge with a score of 54-45.

The 1st quarter proved to be a defensive battle, with Belfry first finding the basket with 6:09 left as Shawn Dotson hit a jumper and followed with another at 4:41. Jeremy Maynard made the score 6-0 before Wolfpack freshman Nick Turner was able to connect for the Wolfpack at the 3:00 mark. Two Wolfpack fouls gave the Pirates an additional 3 points and a Corey Coleman put back had the Pirates up 11-4, after another Turner basket. The 2nd quarter was punctuated by trips to the charity stripe. The Wolfpack’s Bobby Hurley picked up 3 fouls in the space of 27 seconds. Neither team was able to find the basket easily in the second quarter.

With 3:17 left in the half, Jarrid McCormick, after a smooth steal, connected, tying the score at 12-12. Belfry’s Hairston answered, putting the Pirates back on top.

Williamson’s Nick Lee got the scoring started early in the 3rd with a basket. Then the defense took over, with neither team scoring until the 5:33 mark, when Dotson connected. Hatcher took it to the hoop, 26-23., with 3:44 left in the third quarter.

Three quick Wolfpack fouls, within 22 seconds, added 2 to the Belfry score. McCormick added two before Dotson struck for a three pointer at the 2:08 mark, tying the score. Anderson, whose playing was hampered by a bronchial problem, connected, giving the Wolfpack the lead at 1:46. The third quarter ended with a Wolfpack lead of 34-31.

The fourth quarter opened with the Wolfpack scoring 5 unanswered points on a basket by White and a 3 by McCormick. From there, the Pirates took control, scoring 5 points off of 6 Wolfpack fouls in the last minutes of the game. The final score was 54-45.

Both coaches had high praise for both teams. Belfry Coach Randy Casey was impressed with his team’s character toughness in the 4th quarter, especially the dominating play of Andrew Elkins and Joey Pinson. Also, the senior leadership of Dotson and Coleman made a difference in game strategy execution. “It was a great atmosphere and a well fought game. I was impressed with the effort of the Pack. They are a well-coached team,” said Casey. “If we had made some of the easy shots in the 1st quarter, it would have been a different ballgame. I was pleased with our effort on the boards and the character my team showed tonight.”

Wolfpack Coach Curt Fletcher felt that the Pirate pressure defense hurt his team in the 1st half, but they were better able to handle it in the 2nd half. “We played hard as we could and did as good as they could do. I couldn’t ask for a better team effort. We just fell short at the end,” Fletcher stated. “Our youth caught up with us in the fourth quarter and things just didn’t go our way. However, our team now has the confidence it needs to win games.”

Leading scorers for Belfry were Dotson with 21, including 4 threes, and Coleman with 11. Leading the Wolfpack offense was McCormick with 13 and Turner with 8.

Other scorers were, for the Pirates Elkins with 9, Hairston and Maynard 4, Varney 3, and Pinson 2. The Wolfpack effort was helped by Davidson, Hatcher, and Lee with 5, Anderson and White with 4 and Hurley with 1.

Belfry faces Pike Central Friday at Belfry. The Wolfpack is at home Thursday against Pikeville.