Railey’s 25 leads Watauga romp past Johnson County, 77-54

December 28, 2023

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Josiah Railey goes up for a one-handed dunk vs. Johnson County on Dec. 28 in the first round of the High Country Holiday Classic. Photographic image by David Rogers

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — What started out as a nip-and-tuck affair in the first half morphed into a second half Watauga runaway on Dec. 28 at Lentz Eggers Gym. The Pioneers dispatched Johnson County in the first round nightcap of the High Country Holiday Classic, 77-54.

“We got a little separation in the third quarter,” noted Watauga head coach Bryson Payne afterwards. “But in the fourth quarter we finally got into the flow of our transition game, the way we want to play.”

Watauga guard Cade Keller prepares to drive the lane on Dec. 28 vs. Johnson County in the first round of the High Country Holiday Classic. Photographic image by David Rogers

For the Pioneers, it was run, run, run, especially in the second half. While the backcourt tandem of guards Cade Keller and Maddox Greene initiated a lot of the downcourt attacks, Josiah Railey (25 points), Jackson Pryor (15 points) and Keller (16 points) often provided the finishing touches. Highlights included an artful, one-handed dunk by Railey and a thunderous, two-hands hanging on the rim jam by Pryor.

For the most part, Watauga was lethal in the paint with a decided size advantage. Only 12 of the Pioneers’ 77 total points originated from behind the 3-point arc, two by Keller, one from Railey, and one from Jackson Love coming off the bench in the second quarter.

Pioneer big man Jackson Pryor grabs the rim in finishing off a thunderous first half dunk in the first round of the High Country Holiday Classic on Dec. 28. Photographic image by David Rogers

As a team, Watauga converted 15 of 24 (63%) free throws on the night although on the surface that is misleading. Given his other offensive production and game-high 25 points, few will be critical of Railey’s 6-of-13 (46%) performance from the charity stripe that dragged the team average down.

For Johnson County, junior guard Eli Dickens and sophomore guard Darren Chappell opened the game “hot,” accounting for 13 of the Longhorns’ 18 first quarter points and helping the visitors to an 18-17 lead by the end of the first stanza.

In the second quarter, Watauga made some defensive adjustments to limit the Longhorns to just 10 more points before the halftime break, with Railey and Pryor leading the Pioneers to 15 points in the second stanza to take a still tenuous, 32-28 advantage into intermission.

Watauga guard Maddox Greene (0) eyes the basket in the first half of the Pioneers’ first round game vs. Johnson County in the High Country Holiday Classic on Dec. 28. Photographic image by David Rogers

Johnson County’s roster is dominated by sophomores and freshmen this season and the young hoopsters just could not keep up with the more veteran Pioneers’ fast-paced, up-tempo transition game and had few answers for Watauga’s height advantage in the paint with Pryor, Wyatt Kohout, Brady Lindenmuth and even Levi Stone and Paul Taylor coming off the bench in the fourth quarter.

Now 1-8 on the young season, Johnson County looks to improve in the second round of the Holiday Classic when they face Pine Lake Prep (4-4) on Dec. 29, with tipoff scheduled for 2:30 in Lentz Eggers Gym. The Pride lost to Apex Friendship in the first round, 71-60.

Watauga forward Wyatt Kohout spent much of the Dec. 28 game vs. Johnson County on the bench, after getting in early foul trouble, but here drives for two of his six points in the first round of the High Country Holiday Classic. Photographic image by David Rogers

Watauga (7-2) will have a strong challenge from North Davidson (8-3) on Dec. 29, with tipoff slated for 7 p.m. The Black Knights defeated Ashe County, 67-63, in the first round.

The Pioneers complete the Holiday Classic on Dec. 30 vs. Apex Friendship (6-2), a 4A contender in the Southeast Wake Conference.