MORGANTOWN – Morgantown High School held a celebration for its 2022 state championship basketball team on Monday night inside the Rowdie Center. MHS defeated Parkersburg South 56-53 on Saturday night to claim the class AAAA title, the second in school history.
Parents, siblings, relatives, friends, students, fans, community members, etc. were all in attendance to recognize the Mohigans accomplishment.
The program opened with a short statement by MHS athletic director John Bowers followed by a short slideshow of photos captured throughout the season.
Head coach Dave Tallman then took to the mic to recap his thoughts and feelings on his teams’ wonderful run to the championship. The first thing mentioned by Tallman was the school pride he had felt during the year being “the best school pride I’ve ever seen in all my eight years here”.
He followed by thanking the administration, faculty, and staff of MHS, as well as boosters and parents that have supported the team in so many ways (financially, travel, fundraising, videoing, announcers, etc.).
He even shouted out the local and state-wide media coverage that the student-athletes have received over the years (thanks coach!).
Then it was the players’ turn to be recognized. Tallman began with his “bench mob”, consisting of Brady Savage, Izzy Everett, Jacob King, Ethan Wise, and Johnathan Shrewsberry. These are the players that Tallman credited for preparing their teammates for upcoming games in practice. Simulating an opponent is difficult to do but Tallman says his coaches and bench mob give his other guys all they can ask for in scrimmages and everyone knows MHS hoops can look forward to more winning with those guys being a part of the team for the near future.
Attention was then turned to a few specific players on the roster, beginning with junior Koma Neal. Koma is one of the players on the MHS roster whose stats are the ones that aren’t always recorded. Tallman describes Koma as the “dog” of the team, “Every time we put him in the game, he is on the floor getting a loose ball or grabbing rebounds,” Tallman said of his junior forward.
Junior Cam Danser was also praised, specifically for his performance in Charleston that helped his team win the state title. In the semifinal against South Charleston, the Mohigans were struggling to find points and allowed the Black Eagles to keep the score close.
Enter Danser, who immediately impacted the game with a three to spark his team in the first quarter. HE continued his contribution with another triple that extended the MHS lead to 15-6 early in the second.
“This next guy could’ve made the all-tournament team in my opinion,” Tallman said, introducing Danser. “In that semifinal game we were struggling to score, Cam came in and lit a fuse and it would have been a much tighter game if it weren’t for Cam. That rebound he had when his chin was up on the rim was amazing and he will have a great year next year.”
Seniors Brooks Gage, Jalen Goins, and Alec Poland, who all serve as co-captains on the team, each got a turn on the mic to say a few words and reflect on their final seasons at MHS.
“I wasn’t nervous at all because I knew our guys were going to find a way and it started with our leadership,” said Tallman of his three senior captains. “They are big time shot-makers, there’s always a different guy, I can’t say enough great things about these guys and I am going to miss the heck out of these three.”
“This year was one of the best years of my life, we achieved our ultimate goal of the championship and it still doesn’t feel real,” Gage said of his season. “I wanna thank the Rowdie (MHS students) for coming out and supporting us, last year with COVID we didn’t have fans and it was hard but you guys made a difference for sure.”
Gage describes his year as “unforgettable” and knows that he will hold a place in MHS basketball history forever.
Senior Alec Poland finished as a finalist for state player of the year this year. He describes his four years at MHS as the best of his life and was very thankful for all of his coaches and mentors he has had.
MHS finished their season with a record of 23-4 (regular and postseason). However, none of their losses came to a team located within the state of West Virginia and they recorded a win over nationally-ranked Bishop Walsh High School (Cumberland, MD) by a decisive margin, 74-58.
The Mohigans scored an average of 72.6 points per game while only allowing their opponents to score an average of 45.5 points. In fact, before the championship game against Parkersburg South that ended with a margin of just 3 at 56-53, MHS’ closest victory margin was 11.
Although they will be losing three starters, whom all play a major role in the lineup, MHS will return a strong team for the 2022-23 season and should once again contend for a state title.
Congratulations to the Morgantown Mohigans on becoming the 2022 WVSSAC class AAAA basketball state champions.
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