CHARLESTON – The top-seeded Morgantown High boys’ basketball team began its 2022 WVSSAC state tournament with a dominating 71-33 win over Musselman on Thursday.
MHS wasted no time pushing the game into the style it wanted. Pressure defense led to transition offense and the speed of the Mohigans seemed to catch Musselman off guard. In just under two minutes played, MHS led 8-0.
On top of an impressive start on offense, MHS had only allowed 2 points through the first five minutes of play. A triple by Brooks Gage extended the lead to 17 at 19-2. The Mohigans were 8 of 9 from the field to begin, as well. They would only miss three shots in the first quarter while getting scoring from all five starters. MHS would lead 26-6 after one.
“I don’t really know what our style or tempo really is,” MHS head coach Dave Tallman said. “We’ve won games in the 50s, we’ve won games in the 80s, I have confidence in my guys that they will always make the right play.”
The Mohigans picked up right where they left off with two straight triples, another for Gage and one for Brody Davis, the fourth and fifth for their team.
Applemen standout Jordan Holmes opened his scoring in the second with a 3 from the left wing. Before that he was 0 of 5 from the floor. The Applemen as a team were just 2 of 9 from deep at the break.
Gage beat the buzzer before the break to extend the MHS lead to 47-16. He also led all scorers with 15 points. Alec Poland contributed 12 points in the first half on 4 of 4 shooting, as well. The Mohigans held an advantage on the glass in the first half also at 18 to 11, which helped them hold Musselman to one-shot possessions and allowed them to get into good offense. Sophomore Sha-Ron Young scored six points, but also had 5 assists and 5 rebounds at the break.
Just as Gage closed the first half, he would open the second half likewise with a triple. The Applemen managed to trade baskets with their opponents throughout the next 2:30 but had already fallen into too-large of a hole, trailing 60-24.
The Mohigans added six more points and lead 66-24 going into the final quarter. Gage added six of his own for 21 points on 8 of 12 shooting, including five from downtown.
“When we can come out and shoot like that and guard the way we did and pressure the ball, we have a really good chance,” Tallman said.
Clock management became a priority for MHS in the final quarter. It added 11 to its 60 points while Musselman added 10.
The Mohigans advanced to the semifinals with the win and will take on South Charleston at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
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MORGANTOWN 26 21 19 5 – 71
MUSSELMAN 6 10 8 9 – 33
Morgantown (21-4)
Brooks Gage 12 0-0 21 Alec Poland 7 2-3 14 Sha-Ron Young 8 0-0 11 Cam Danser 7 3-3 10 Brody Davis 4 1-2 7 Jalen Goins 3 2-2 4 Ethan Marra 0 2-2 2 Koma Neal 2 2-2 2
Musselman (14-11)
Jordan Holmes 12 0-0 8 Troy Woolaston 6 2-2 8 Conner Long 6 0-0 6 Trenton Wolfe 9 2-2 5 Gordon Shaffer 2 0-0 2 Nathan Whyte 2 0-0 2 Calvin Kleppner 3 0-1 2
Three-pointers: Morgantown 11 (Gage 5, Poland 2, Davis 2, Young 1, Danser 1); Mussleman 3 (Holmes 2, Wolfe 1)
