Warren Central missed a chance to finish the Mendenhall Tournament with a 3-0 record.

WC coach Jesse Johnson blamed turnovers and missed easy shots for the loss that dropped Warren Central to 8-7 going into Tuesday’s Division 4-6A clash with Clinton.

“I think I counted 17 missed layups,” Johnson said. “That was the difference in the game. We played well in the first half, much like we did the first two days. Then we started to make a whole lot of mistakes.”

WC led 21-13 after one quarter and 34-31 at the half. Devin Johnson was a big factor early with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the first half.

The second half saw the Cougars go to a three-quarter trap defense and the Vikings couldn’t handle it. The Cougars opened with a 9-0 run and led 40-34. The Vikings got within one, at 47-46, at the end of the quarter.

With five minutes to go, Lawrence County was up 60-50. A 5-0 run by WC cut it to five, but the Cougars answered to go up 69-61.

Down five at 70-65 with 40 seconds left, Gerald Glass stole a pass and scored to make it 70-67. Lawrence County’s J.J. Evans’ hit a 3-pointer on the next possession and the Vikings couldn’t recover.

“The 3-pointer really hurt,” Johnson said. “We got it down to three but then it went back to six.”

Antonio Batiste led Lawrence County with 24 points. David Haynes had 18, Evans 14, and Brandon Davis scored 13.

The Vikings were led by Johnson, who finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Kourey Davis had 13 points, eight assists and five rebounds.