MORGANTOWN — Both local teams closed the first day of the BFS Tip-Off Classic strong Friday night as Morgantown and University both notched wins.
Morgantown dismantled Washington 97-22 in the first game before the host Hawks topped Hurricane 86-75 in the nightcap.
It was University’s second win in as many tries this season as the Hawks (2-0) looked like a much better team than when they played their season-opener Tuesday. After being frustrated with how stagnant his offense looked Tuesday, UHS coach Joe Schmidle was a complete reversal from his Hawks as they picked apart Hurricane’s zone defense.
“Our patience on offense was a big difference, that was the biggest thing,” Schmidle said. “That’s what I was so frustrated with on Tuesday. I knew we were better than what we showed and it was just a lack of patience.”
Hurricane led 20-16 after the first quarter, but University switched to its full-court press defense and put on a clinic, embarking on a 26-2 scoring run that durned a six-point deficit into am 18-point lead.
“I knew coming into this year that would be something we should be good at with our quickness,” Schmidle said. “When the kids really play hard, they can do it pretty well. We’ve got a lot of wrinkles to iron out yet, but I was really proud of the way they played tonight.”
That scoring run included a stretch when senior Kaden Farrell made triples on three consecutive trips down the floor. Also during that run, Landon Cool made two threes and Luke Hudson added another.
“We shot the ball extremely well in the first half,” Schmidle said. “Farrell caught fire and was just unconscious. If we didn’t have that run, the outcome of this game would’ve been a lot different.”
Despite being down 63-20 entering the fourth quarter, Hurricane staged a fierce comeback attempt. Freshman Carson O’Dell entered in the second half and scored 20 points on the back of six made three-pointers. Hurricane came up just short, however, as UHS hit on 15-of-18 free throw attempts in the final frame to preserve their lead.
Farrell led all scorers with 24 points backed up by 16 from Carson Ford and 15 from Rafael Barcina, who made 7-of-8 free throws in the fourth.
O’Dell tied with Jackson Clark with 20 points to lead Hurricane. Daniel Spencer finished with 14 for the visitors. Both teams sank 10 three-pointers.
In the boys’ opener Friday night, Morgantown began its state title defense in dominating fashion by downing Washington 97-22.
“It’s always fun to get out and play against somebody else,” MHS coach Dave Tallman said. “We’ve been beating on each other in practice for three of four weeks so it’s good to get out there and go against somebody else.”
The Mohigans (1-0) scored all 24 points in the first quarter and it never got any better for the Patriots. MHS topped 20 points in every frame and led 48-9 at halftime and 75-15 after the third quarter.
“These guys have played a lot together over the years and we have a really good nucleus,” Tallman said. “Our seniors last year really set the tone for our program and the tradition has carried on.”
Sharron Young led Morgantown with 18 points while Cam Danser (16) and Garrison Kisner (14) also finished in double figures. The Mohigans hit nine three-pointers, each one by a different player.
Kristopher Doleman led Washington with 12 points.
All four teams are back in action today for day two of the tournament. They will swap opponents as Morgantown will play Hurricane at 3 p.m. and University takes on Washington at 4:30 p.m.
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Morgantown 97, Washington 22
Wash 0 9 6 7 — 22
MHS 24 24 27 22 — 97
Wash — Spriggs 1 0-0 2; J. McCarthy 1 0-0 2; Zimmerman 0 0-2 0; Doleman 3 5-6 12; Butera 0 0-1 0; S. McCarthy 2 0-0 4; Hale 1 0-0 2.
MHS — Shrewsberry 3 0-0 7; Young 8 1-2 18; Kisner 6 2-2 14; Davis 2 3-4 8; Danser 7 1-1 16; King 2 0-0 5; Neal 2 1-3 6; Everett 1 1-2 4; Johnson 1 0-0 3; Savage 4 0-0 9; Murray 1 0-0 2; Hill 1 3-4 5.
3 Pt. Goals — Wash 1 (Doleman). MHS 9 (Shrewsberry 1, Young 1, Davis 1, Danser 1, King 1, Neal 1, Everett 1, Johnson 1, Savage 1).
University 86, Hurricane 75
H 20 5 18 32 — 75
UHS 16 28 19 23 — 86
Hurricane — Clark 8 4-5 20; Whittington 1 1-2 3; Spencer 5 2-4 14; Taylor 2 0-0 4; Dean 1 4-6 6; O’Dell 7 0-0 20; Dues 3 0-2 8.
UHS — Ford 5 4-6 16; Barcinas 3 9-10 15; Fortney-Garbart 1 2-3 5; Nemecek 2 3-3 7; Farrell 9 2-4 24; Hudson 1 4-4 7; Cool 3 0-1 8; Coleman 1 0-0 2; Bandy 1 0-0 2.
3 Pt. Goals — Hurricane 10 (O’Dell 6, Spencer 2, Dues 2). UHS 10 (Farrell 4, Ford 2, Cool 2, Fortney-Garbart 1, Hudson 1).
