By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Attacking from the inside and the outside gave host Watauga a formidable 1-2 punch on Jan. 17, defeating Hibriten at Lentz Eggers Gym in convincing fashion, 84-58.
Building on Jace Blocker’s 9-point effort down low in the first quarter, junior guard Cade Keller hit two of his five 3-pointers on the night in the second quarter, helping the Pioneers gain separation. Keller’s 12 points in the second period led him to a game-high 23 points by the final buzzer, while Blocker tallied 21 points, all from inside the and on the charity stripe.

After getting up on opponents the last two Northwestern Conference games at South Caldwell and Alexander Central but failing to finish in the 2024-25 season’s only conference losses, the Pioneers got back in stride and didn’t let up in this contest. Important stat: Watauga got a lot of second chance opportunities with 14 offensive rebounds.
Hibriten’s future under new head coach Ronshad Shabazz, the former all-Sun Belt Conference performer at App State, may have become evident with the varsity performance of freshman Rob Beasley. The 6-0 guard helped the Panthers keep the deficit respectable with 22 points, all scored in the final three quarters. Holden Woodward added 17 and Julius Martin contributed 12, but overall Hibriten had a challenging time dealing with the Pioneers’ pressing, disruptive defense.
With the loss, Hibriten falls to 3-14 on the season while Watauga improves to 9-5 after the win. The Pioneers next face East Forsyth on Jan. 18, at West Forsyth in Winston-Salem. The Pioneers know how to put points on the board after scoring 55 or more points in their last 14 games.
East Forsyth (7-3) comes into the game on a six-game winning streak, the Eagles’ most recent victim the Reagan Raiders on Jan. 17.
SCORING
- WAT – Cade Keller (23 points)
- HIB – Rob Beasley (22)
- WAT – Jace Blocker (21)
- HIB – Holden Woodward (17)
- HIB – Julius Martin (12)
- WAT – Josiah Railey (11)
- WAT – Jackson Love (6)
- WAT – Eli Bishop (5)
- HIB – Demarius Walton (5)
- WAT – Seth Greene (4)
- WAT – Kyle Williams (3)
- WAT – Maddox Greene (3)
- WAT – Logan Greene (2)
- WAT – Brady Lindenmuth (2)
- WAT – J T Cook (2)
- WAT – Paul Taylor (2)
- HIB – Dexter Mosely (2)