Young Warhorses continue strong start with victory in home opener
Owen improves to 3-0 in 58-54 win over Tuscola
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
November 22, 2025
Following back-to-back victories on the road to start the 2025 campaign, Owen faced off against 0-1 Tuscola, Nov. 21, as the Warhorses hosted their first home basketball game of the season.
Led by 18 points from senior guard Asante Martin, the home team survived a late onslaught from the Mountaineers to improve to 3-0, winning, 58-54.
The Warhorses entered the contest coming off of contrasting performances against North Buncombe, which they defeated 107-105 in double overtime to start the season, before outlasting R-S Central, 48-38. Martin, one of four seniors remaining from a team that finished 2024 with a 19-7 mark and advanced to the second round of the postseason, is averaging 25.6 points through the winning streak.
“He’s the linchpin of this team,” Owen head coach Joe Valencia said. “He’s making it happen.”
Martin, who scored a career-high 43 points in his season debut, is thriving in a new role this year, after eight seniors graduated from the program last summer.
“Last year, we came into the season with a lot of basketball players, meaning it was their primary sport. This season, we have a lot of guys who are multi-sport athletes,” Valencia said. “So, through the fall we were practicing with four varsity players until the seasons ended for other sports.”
Among the returning players, senior forward Jackson Warnock, who also posted a career-high 21 points in the opener, is also embracing expanded duties on the court.
“We have two guys who have played heavy minutes on the varsity level, and so far, they have played big for us,” the coach said. “Jackson’s development has been great, and you can really see his growth as a player.”
Other seniors logging increased minutes through the first three games of the season are Caden Mobley and Owen Zeh, while a talented group of sophomores provides an inexperienced but capable supporting cast.
“We’re loaded with sophomores, and they’re all capable of being great, but they have to figure it out on the fly,” Valencia said. “If we want to win this year, they’re all going to have to play to the best of their abilities.”
Izaiah O’Neil, who played limited minutes as a freshman, scored 19 points in his season debut, before recording 16 against Tuscola, while Cash Mack and LaSalle Jones have each demonstrated flashes of their potential, the coach added.
Martin is being tasked with orchestrating the program’s rebuild in the final season of his four-year varsity career.
“He’s remarkable. I’ve coached exactly one of him over the past 30 years,” Valencia said. “You never see him raise is voice at teammates, and he always treats his guys right. There are some great players out there who could not do what he’s already doing well this year. He’s not just special on the court, he’s simply a special person.”
Owen’s home debut exposed the many challenges the program will need to overcome to remain competitive this year. While the Warhorses carried an 11-point advantage over Tuscola into the final quarter, the lead was cut to 2 points in the final seconds of the matchup.
Martin, however, sealed the victory with a pair of late free throws.
“Tonight was tough, because we came out flat,” Martin said. “In the second half, we realized we were a lot better than we were playing. Even if we’re not hitting shots, we have other things we can rely on.”
While his performance on the court has remained consistent through a career in which he has eclipsed 1,000 points, Martin is learning new lessons in leadership this season.
“We had guys before who were really vocal leaders, so now, on the court and off the court, I have to really help teach these younger kids about playing the game of basketball,” he said. “We’ll hang out all the time and talk about basketball, so they’re definitely learning, but I also want them to fully understand their roles on the court.”
Those young players, according to the coach, must be willing to learn on the job.
“We’ve got to grow a lot,” Valencia said. “Asante and Jackson are capable of going out there every night and giving us their best, so we have to really focused on instilling confidence in these sophomores and trying to build them up, mentally and physically. We want to get their skill levels up to match their athletic abilities, because these kids are phenomenal athletes, and everybody wants them to get the most out that.”
As Owen prepares to host R-S Central, at 8 p.m., Tuesday, Nov.25, the program can expect a series of tests in the upcoming schedule.
“It’s kind of a trial by fire,” Valencia said. “Right now, we need to do the things that are required to be competitive, so I’m working as hard as I can to tweak the system to make it work for these guys. They just need to rise to the occasion and keep working as hard as they can.”
Photos of Owen’s home opener against Tuscola can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.