CORNERSVILLE — The Moore County Raiders came alive in the second half in Tuesday night’s district game against Cornersville to manage a 50-38 win over the Bulldogs – a crucial W at just the right time. It lifts Moore County to #2 in the District 9A rankings behind #1 Fayetteville, whose lone district loss happened against the Raiders on February 1. The loss dropped Cornersville to 3-5 in district play.

The Raiders came into the game following a narrow, three-point loss against Eagleville on Friday in Lynchburg. Moore County led for much of that game – going into halftime with a 41-39 lead. The Eagles made a three-point shot with less than a minute to play to pull away as time expired. {To read our full coverage of that game, click here.}

Cornersville came into the Raider game following a 56-51 win against Eagleville on February 1. Cornersville held Eagleville to just six second period points to pull ahead 28-19 at halftime. The Eagles battle back in the second half, but Cornersville held them off to get the win.

Moore County pull away in the second half

Both teams got off to a slow start. Moore County put up eight points in the first eight minutes thanks to a basket by Keller Morey and three-point shots from Colton Bateman and Alex Copeland. The first period ended with Bulldog leading 10-8. In the second, the Raiders and Bulldogs matched each other basket-for-basket – putting up eight total points each. At the break, the score was Moore County 16, Cornersville 18.

Moore County came out of the break with a spark from Alex Copeland who put up 12 of the Raiders 16 third period points. The Raiders also started playing more aggressive D – holding the Bulldogs to just 12. In the fourth, the Bulldog strategy seemed to be foul to get the ball back. In fact, they purposely fouled the Raiders on multiple back-to-back offensive possession – a move that put Moore County in the bonus halfway through the fourth period. Moore County scored half of their 18 fourth period from the line – including five points from Keller Morey.

Alex Copeland led for Moore County with 22 points followed by Colton Bateman and Keller Morey with nine each. Other contributing Raiders were Will Harder (6) and Will Baker (4).

The Moore County has just one more regular season game left on the schedule this season. They play their final regular season home game against Lincoln County on Friday. The Moore County Sports Network broadcasts all Raider games on the NFHS Network or you can follow The Lynchburg Times for live score updates. •

{The Lynchburg Times is the only locally owned newspaper in Lynchburg and also the only woman-owned newspaper in Tennessee. We cover Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}