Warhorses run away from R-S Central with fourth straight win
Owen senior scores career-high in 69-49 home victory
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
November 25, 2025
A career-high 24 points. along with 10 rebounds, from senior Jackson Warnock, Nov. 25, helped propel Owen to its fourth straight victory to open the season.
The senior was one of three Warhorses to record a double-digit scoring performance in the contest, as Owen defeated R-S Central, 69-49, at home.
Fellow senior and the program’s leading scorer Asante Martin notched 20 points, while sophomore LaSalle Jones added 11 to go with 9 rebounds.
The Warhorses seized the lead early in the first quarter, before establishing a 33-16 advantage at the half. The home team led by as many as 23 points in the third quarter and 24 in the fourth.
“Transition and defense,” head coach Joe Valencia said, in response to his team’s performance. “If we play aggressive defense, we can get out on transition and score. Then, tonight, our young guys stepped up.”
Sophomore Izaiah O’Neil contributed 9 points in the matchup, which ended with Owen’s largest margin of victory through its first four games.
“That was a great game,” Warnock said. “We really wanted to work on effort, because our previous two games, we got wins, but we knew we needed to play better. Tonight, we went out there, got big defensive stops and ran hard in transition.”
The performance of Jones, according to his coach, represented a key complementary piece to those of Warnock and Martin.
“I told him before the game to dominate the boards, and that’s what he went out there and did,” Valencia said of the sophomore. “He gave us huge minutes tonight. He was guarding a guard, which was really due to his athleticism.”
Owen’s execution against the Hilltoppers represents the style of play and level of intensity the team will need to embrace to continue being successful, according to Warnock.
“We have to keep showing up to practice, and have more people step up,” he said. “Whether it’s me, or the young guys who have a lot of talent, we have to find ways to step up and support Asante. We just have to keep working.”
With eight days until their next game, which begins at 8 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 3, in Brevard, the Warhorses will enjoy two days off from practice for the Thanksgiving holiday.
“Friday and Saturday, we’ll be here getting after it,” Valencia said. “We have to stay in shape, be able to play great defense and rebound, and the offense will come.”
Photos of Owen’s victory over R-S Central can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.