CHARLESTON — Morgantown’s Luke Bechtel has a knack for playing some of his best basketball against Woodrow Wilson, and it may not be a complete coincidence.
Prior to Thursday’s Class 4A state quarterfinals match up at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center, the Mohigans and Flying Eagles played April 3, and Bechtel scored a game-high 18 points in MHS’s 22-point win.
This time around, is was nearly an identical performance as Bechtel’s 18 points led the Mohigans to a 69-56 win, advancing to Friday’s semifinals.
There is a connection between Bechtel and Woodrow Wilson — his mother, formerly Michelle Lindsay, was an all-state star for the Flying Eagles in the 1990s. She also played for current boys’ coach Ron Kidd.
Humbly, Bechtel said he really didn’t put much thought into the maternal connection.
My mom and coach Kidd still talk. she has connections to Beckley,” Bechtel said. “Everything has gone so fast. Didn’t have much time to think about — maybe it’s a good thing.”
It was a close game throughout the early part of the first half with MHS holding a 15-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. After Woodrow Wilson pulled within two in the second, the Mohigans ripped off a 9-0 run to take a commanding lead. A 9-3 MHS (18-1) run at the end of the half gave the Mohigans a 37-24 advantage heading into the locker room.
It was the Flying Eagles’ turn to get hot to start the second half, scoring the first nine points in the third quarter, forcing MHS coach Dave Tallman to call timeout.
“We’d get up and it looked like the game was going to get away from them and they’d fight like crazy and play inspired basketball,” Tallman said.
From there, the Mohigans built their lead back to double digits and it stayed there until the end.
Carson Poffenberger started 6 of 6 from the field and finished second on the team with 15 points. Alec Poland was the other Mohigans to finish in double figures with 11 points.
“We didn’t play our best game tonight — 14 assists to 14 turnovers, which is not what we’ve done all year,” Tallman said. We’re usually about 3 to 1 there. We did some crazy stuff. Defense helped us win the game.”
For Woodrow Wilson (10-12), Ben Gilliam led the team with 18 points, followed by Elijah Redfern’s 16.
MHS will face 4th-seeded Huntington at 5:30 p.m. Friday. The Highlanders knocked off University 66-63 late Thursday.
An emotional game
Woodrow Wilson was mourning the loss of teammate Dwayne Richardson, ho was killed Sunday in Beckley. According to police, he was inadvertently shot by Jeriamyah Jacob Fortner, who was mishandling an AR-15.
The Flying Eagles decided they still wanted to play the game against Morgantown, and both teams honored Richardson, 18, before Thursday’s game. Both teams wore shirts remembering Richardson — the Flying Eagles with special remarks and the Mohigans with his No. 12 in Woodrow Wilson’s maroon.
The MHS cheerleaders presented flowers to their Flying Eagles counterparts.
Richardson’s father, Dwayne Sr., sat at the end of the Woodrow Wilson bench for the entire game and greeted players as the exited at the end.
“With everything going on, I know I got emotional,” Tallman said. “We got here early and we were the first game of the session. We have a great relationship with those guys and a lot of respect. They come up to our tournaments, we go to theirs. Coach (Michel) Fowlkes, coach Kidd, we love those guys. it was gut-wrenching to say the least when they brought his jersey out on the bench. The moment of silence, I know I got emotional. It’s more than basketball tonight. I don’t even really remember what happened in the game. Our thoughts were with Dwayne, his family and the Beckley community the whole night.”
Box score
WOODROW WILSON (10-12)
Cook 2 0-0 4; McMillen 2 1-1 6; Redfern 6 2-4 16; Gilliam 6 6-9 18; Slay 2 0-0 5; McCoy 1 0-0 2; Peck 1 0-0 3; Dixon 0 0-0 0; Kimble 0 0-0 0; Miller 0 2-2 2. Totals: 20 11-16 56.
MORGANTOWN (18-1)
Poland 5 0-2 11; Pryor 3 2-2 8; Gage 2 1-2 6; Bechtel 7 0-0 18; Poffenberger 6 2-3 15; Rice 0 0-0 0; Goins 1 0-0 2; Young 3 2-2 8; Dalton 0 0-0 0; Davis 0 0-0 0; Gabriele 0 1-2 1. Totals: 27 8-13 69.
WWHS 12 12 15 17 – 56
MHS 15 22 13 19 – 69
3-pointers: WWHS 5 (McMillen, Redfern 2, Slay, Peck); MHS 7 (Poland, Gage, Bechtel 4, Poffenberger).
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