MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and for the defending Class AAA state champion University boys’ basketball team, the2019-20 regular season has been more than satisfactory. At 19-3 and ranked No. 1, there has been plenty of growth and success.
But there is no doubt that anything less than a deep run in Charleston would be a bitter disappointment for the talented, senior-laden Hawks, so when they hosted Preston last night in the Region I, Section 2 semifinals, the plan was to launch their postseason journey with confident efficiency.
Consider the Hawks well on their way, as they rode a hot shooting first half from John Ross Mazza and a typical hot shooting night from Kaden Metheny to outscore the Knights, 100-66.
The two senior guards canned eight triples in the first half — five from Metheny and three from Mazza, as UHS (20-3) raced out to a 22-11 first quarter lead, then extended it to 51-29 at the break. While the Hawks coaching staff chose to tighten the defensive clamps on Preston’s prolific senior forward Nick Smith throughout most of the first half, PHS point guard Jaden Fultz was more than ready for the challenge of facing Division-I bound Metheny. The junior’s quickness and vision (he led PHS with 16 points) kept the Knights (7-16) in the game, and impressed UHS coach Joe Schmidle in the process.
“He was good, wasn’t he?” Schmidle asked. “He never backed off and held his own. He’s going to be the best point guard in the region next year, no doubt about it.”
It was more of the same in the third, as the Hawks put up 30 in the quarter (Metheny hit for a dozen on his way to a game-high 32 points) and held the Knights to just 18 to take an 81-47 lead, and after Schmidle pulled the starters in the fourth, it was a race to the century mark, which came on freshman Jaeden Hammack’s stickback with two minutes left.
Mazza and Aaron Forbes each had 11, K.J. McClurg battled through illness for 13 points and Ryan Niceler also hit double figures with 10. Zach Shannon scored 14 and Smith totaled 13 for Knights coach Paul Koontz.
“We really got hit hard by injuries this year,” Koontz said after the game, “but we never allowed it to be an excuse for us. We were ninth in scoring in Class AAA, but we gave up more than we scored. Just looking at Morgantown and University, they’re great teams because of their defense, and that’s the next piece of the puzzle for us. Our seniors (Daniel Allen, Byron Brandt, Shannon, Austin Metheny and Smith) are such great kids. They’re leaders in the school, in the community and in the gym. Nick is such a special player. So unselfish and so smooth. I already miss him and all the seniors, but I’m ready to get to work tomorrow for next year.”
For Schmidle, this was step one.
“We shot it well in the first half,” he said. “We basically took care of business. John Ross was big early for us, and if he’s playing well and knocking shots down on the perimeter, we can be tough to match up against. I think we need to work on defending threes better. If we give up nine 3-pointers a game, we’re in trouble, but all in all, I was happy.”
As for Friday night’s Round IV (UHS leads the season series 2-1) sectional final with Morgantown (at University at 7 p.m.), Schmidle’s summation for what to expect was short and sweet.
“We’d better come ready to play,” he said. “It’s gonna be a 32-minute dogfight. It always is.”
PRESTON (7-16)
Thomas 1 2-2 5; Smith 4 3-6 13; Metheny 1 0-0 3; Shannon 6 2-3 14; Fultz 6 2-3 16; Harris 3 0-0 6; Allen 2 0-0 6; Sargent 1 0-0 3. Totals: 24 9-14 66.
UNIVERSITY (20-3)
McClurg 3 7-7 13; Jackson 1 0-0 2; Metheny 10 6-6 32; Brooks 3 0-0 6; Reyes 1 0-1 2; Barkley 2 0-0 4; Niceler 5 0-0 10; Hammack 1 1-4 3; Maumbe 2 2-4 6; Mazza 4 0-0 11; Forbes 4 3-3 11. Totals: 36 19-25 100.
PHS 11 18 18 19 – 66
UHS 22 29 30 19 – 100
3-pointers: PHS 9 (Smith 2, Fultz 2, Allen 2, Metheny, Thomas, Sargent); UHS 9 (Metheny 6, Mazza 3).
