Welch, who is stepping down as the leader of the Raiders boy’s basketball program, was making his fourth appearance in the big dance (his team won it all in 1991). On the flip side of the coin, New Knoxville hopes to end 61-years of frustration by winning their first state title (in 1947 – they lost to Columbia in the championship game).

Since Welch announced that this was his last season at the helm of the Raiders boy’s basketball program, his players wanted him to go out on top. The Wayne Trace hardwood men went on a mission to get their coach to the state tournament one last time. The Raiders' players accomplished that goal by playing some good basketball throughout the tournament.

Unfortunately for Wayne Trace, they did not bring their “A” game to the big dance Thursday night, as the Raiders committed an uncharacteristic 19 turnovers, which led to a total of 28-points for the Rangers. Add to that fact that Wayne Trace could not find the bottom of the bucket (15 of 44 shooting for 34.1 percent from the field and just 2 of 13 shooting for 15.4 percent from 3-point range) and the rout was on.

The turnover bug bit Wayne Trace early, as they let an 8-6 first quarter New Knoxville lead turn into a 16-8 deficit at the first stop, as the Rangers ended the quarter on an 8-0 run. New Knoxville continued to take advantage of Wayne Trace’s turnovers and shooting woes in the second stanza to lead at the break 25-14.

In the third period, Wayne Trace cut their double-digit deficit to eight points in the middle of the quarter, giving their faithful a glimmer of hope. Unfortunately for the Raiders, New Knoxville slammed the door on that thought by going on a 16-0 tear that covered the rest of the third and part of the fourth quarters, stretching their advantage to a 49-25 bulge. Wayne Trace never recovered -- game over!

Hockenberry led the Raiders with 14 points, while teammate Alex LaBounty added 10 markers. New Knoxville rode the shoulders of three double-digit performers to the win. Ryan VanderHorst led the Rangers with a double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds), while teammates Brad Piehl added 13 points and Austin Arnett finished with 11 markers.

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Score by quarters:

New Knoxville 16 9 21 16 - 62

Wayne Trace    6 8 11 16 - 41  

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New Knoxville - Arnett 5 1-4 11, Allen 1 3-4 5, Piehl 4 5-6 13, Meyer 3 1-3 7, VanderHorst 8 0-0 16, Dicke 1 0-1 2, Luck 2 2-2 8. Totals 24 11-17 62.

Wayne Trace - Linder 2 0-0 5, Treece 0 1-2 1, Jewell 1 1-2 3, Hockenberry 4 5-5 14, 0 2-2 2, Hale 3 0-0 6, LaBounty 5 0-0 10. Totals 15 9-11 41.

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3-point field goals: New Knoxville 3 (Meyer, Luck 2); Wayne Trace 2 (Linder, Hockenberry).

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