TONY STINNETT, Courier Co-Editor
Tuesday, December 7, 2010 4:26 am

Senior forward Gabe Walkup beats the defense for a shot in non-district action at Warren County.

McMINNVILLE - It is the holiday season and Cannon County's boys basketball team is in a giving mood - at least it was at Warren County Monday night.

The Lions (7-2) were overwhelmed after gift-wrapping  a 77-75 win for Warren County after having led by as many as 18 points in the second half. Cannon County scored with relative ease throughout its game against Warren County but offered little resistence defensively and was guilty of numerous unforced turnovers that helped key Warren County's comeback.

Jared Nave led Cannon County with 20 points and Justin Davenport contributed 17. Colin Jones (13) and Cody Ruehlen (11) also reached double figures, while Brian Cripps (8) and resever Justin Tobin (6) came close.
Scoring was not a problem. Landing four players in double figures has meant certain victory for Cannon County so far this season - until Monday's madness in McMinnville. The Lions surrended 29 points in the fourth quarter and were outscored by 13 in the final eight minutes.

Cannon County had two leads of nine and six leads of seven, including a 69-62 advantage on Jones' layup with 3:39 remaining, but Warren County got back-to-back 3-pointers from Daniel Hunter in a 39-second span to tie the game 75-75 with 1:16 remaining.

Tyler Glenn's two free throws with five seconds remaining gave Warren County a 77-75 lead and Davenport's desperation shot at the buzzer was off the mark, leaving the Lions stunned.

Cannon County will look to remain unbeaten in District 8-AA play when it faces Smith County at Carthage Friday.

Check out next week's print edition of The Cannon Courier for a complete report of Cannon County's game at Warren County.