Metheny’s moment: University senior scores 44 points, surpasses 2,000 career as Hawks win section in 108-57 win over Morgantown

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — University’s Kaden Metheny has been building a high school resume that some players can only dream of, and while the final chapter isn’t quite finished, Friday night’s game against Morgantown was his moment.

The Hawks went on to a dominant 108-57 win to claim the Class AAA Region I, Section 2 championship, which to Metheny was the most important part of the night, but he scored 44 points and topped 2,000-career points in the process.

Already UHS’s all-time leading scorer, the senior has reached a milestone not many high school players can say — currently sitting at 2,019 points — on top of already being a state champion.

And to Metheny, a Bowling Green signee, repeating as state champs with his teammates is far more important that any individual accomplishment, and the Hawks took a big step toward that by beating the Mohigans.

“It’s been a blessing. I never could have imagined this journey,” Metheny said. “I wouldn’t have wanted to spend it with anyone else. These are my brothers and they’ll be my friends for life. I’ve got to give all the glory to God and He’s been with me through every step. It’s really been amazing.”

The win catapults the Hawks (21-3) to a home game for the co-regional championship as they will host John Marshall at 7 p.m. Tuesday, while MHS (20-4) will travel to Wheeling Park to play at the same time.

Despite winning the state title a year ago, UHS lost to the Mohigans on its home floor in the sectional championship game on a banked-in 3-pointer. Hawks coach Joe Schmidle wanted his team to remember that feeling, and it responded from the start.

After a back-and-forth first few minutes, UHS started to pull away late in the first quarter, and after that, it was off and running. The Hawks went into the locker room at halftime with a 19-point lead, led by Metheny’s 20 points, followed K.J. McClurg’s10 and Aaron Forbes’ eight.

The second half was even more lopsided as UHS outscored the Mohigans 65-33 to push the season series to 3-1 in favor of the Hawks.

“I think that’s the first time this year that we’ve played 32 minutes,” Schmidle said. “Having to go to Wheeling Park, we didn’t want to do that again. We’re happy with the win. We have a few things here and there that we have to improve on before the next stop, but we’ll get those wrinkles worked out here in practice before next week.”

Metheny’s 44 points included nine 3-pointers, and McClurg (23) and Forbes (12) also scored in double figures.

For MHS, it was a nightmare from start to finish, but the sectional championship is the only game in the postseason where the loser’s season doesn’t come to an end. It will have to hit the road against No. 5 Wheeling Park, but the Mohigans beat the Patriots on the road last Saturday by 23 points 70-47.

For coach Dave Tallman, the postgame reaction is simple.

“This one’s on coach Tallman and coach Tallman only, and coach Tallman will start to fix it tomorrow at 9:30 at practice,” he said.

Carson Poffenberger led the Mohigans with 12 points, while Xavier Pryor and Troy Battle each added 10.

Morgantown (20-4)

Rudy 2 0-0 4; Poffenberger 2 7-8 12; Battle 4 2-4 10; Pryor 3 4-5 10; McMillen 2 2-2 7; Bechtel 2 1-1 6; Poland 1 2-2 4; Gage 0 0-0 0; Rollo 0 0-0 0; Washington 0 0-0 0; Borom 0 0-0 0; Felton 0 2-4 2; Smith 1 0-0 2. Totals: 17 18-24 57.
University (21-3)
Metheny 14 7-8 44; McClurg 7 7-13 23; Mazza 2 0-0 5; Forbes 5 2-3 12; Niceler 4 1-2 9; Smith 0 0-0 0; Barkley 1 0-2 2; Maumbe 3 0-1 6; Brooks 0 0-0 0; Reyes 1 0-0 3; Hammack 0 0-0 0; Braham 1 0-0 2; Jackson 1 0-0 2. Totals: 39 17-29 108.
MHS 10 14 18 15 – 57
UHS 18 25 29 36 – 108
3-pointers: MHS 3 (Poffenberger, McMillen, Bechtel); UHS 13 (Metheny 9, McClurg 2, Reyes, Mazza).

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