ROGERSVILLE – The West Greene boys basketball team used a dominant first-half run to blow the game wide open on Wednesday before starting the Big H BBQ Christmas Bash with a 67-47 win over Union County.
“Overall, I thought it was a good win. We started out really flat, but we battled back and finished strong,” West Greene coach Allen Tolliver said. “We just had to pick up our defensive intensity. We started jumping in gaps and tipping passes. That let us run, and when we are running that is when we are playing our best basketball.”
The win is West Greene’s fourth in a row, and second in as many days. Now the Buffaloes will have to win four games in five days to capture the tournament title. Next, they will be in action at 5:30 p.m. on Friday in the semifinals against the winner of Cherokee and University High.
Early in the first quarter Union County jumped in front 9-4, but at the four-minute mark Luke Heck drove the lane to get the Buffaloes’ big run started.
With 3:24 left in the first quarter West Greene took the lead for good when Elijah Williams found Josiah Dawson open for a three-pointer from right wing. Dawson followed with another three-pointer and Tytus Shleton scored four points in the paint as West Greene finished the period on a 16-0 run that put them on top 20-9.
With 5:16 left in the second quarter Dawson came down the left side of the lane for a slick finger roll that pushed the lead to 26-9. That capped West Greene’s run at 22-0.
Dawson led West Greene with 21 points on Wednesday.
“He had a big game. He had been in a little slump and it was good for him to see the ball go in. He’s a super harder worker and I’m looking forward to seeing him grow,” Tolliver said. “He’s a guy that is always spending extra time in the gym and that showed tonight.”
Union County’s Wyatt Lampkin knocked down a three-pointer to bring an end to the Patriots eight-minute scoring drought.
West Greene scored the next nine points to increase the lead to 35-12 as part of a 31-3 run. Dawson hit from deep once more while Shelton scored six more points inside, capping the run by scoring on an offensive rebound.
While West Greene’s offense scored at a high rate during the run, on the defensive end it was the paint presence from Shelton and Lamons that limited good looks and prevented second-chance opportunities.
Union County’s Luke Williams knocked down a triple with three seconds left in the first half to close the gap to 35-17.
In the first four minutes of the second half Shelton, Heck, Williams, Dawson and Lamons all found the bottom of the net as West Greene’s lead reached 45-22.
West Greene’s biggest lead was 51-27 after Dawson sent a long pass ahead to Shelton for a breakaway layup. The Buffs went to the fourth quarter leading 53-32.
Shelton scored 20 points for the second day in a row for West Greene.
Union County’s Kaden Carrol scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, but after Dawson scored in transition twice the Buffaloes led 59-38.
From there the teams traded buckets and West Greene finished with a 67-47 win.
Carroll led Union County on Wednesday with 19 points.
West Greene kept their winning streak going with a 67-47 win over Union County in Wednesday’s opening round of the Big H BBQ Christmas Bash. Hear what Buffs Head Coach Allen Tolliver’s thoughts were afterwards. pic.twitter.com/Dzl2sEYEnr
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) December 18, 2025
