MORGANTOWN — The Morgantown High boys basketball team completed a regular season sweep over crosstown rival University with an impressive offensive display on Tuesday night inside the Rowdie Center.
The Mohigans (14-1) hit five of their 12 total threes in the first quarter, scoring 15 of their first 17 points from beyond the arc in an 86-52 victory over the visiting Hawks (7-9) in front of a packed house.
Each team had eight scorers in the contest, with MHS senior Sharron Young leading the way with 33 points. He finished 12 for 17 from the field with four triples and made all five of his free throw attempts. Young was joined in double-figures by fellow seniors Jay Shrewsberry with 17 points (5 for 6 from three) and Jacob King with 10.
The Hawks were led in scoring by senior James Fortney-Garbart who finished with 23 points, going 10 for 15 from the floor with three triples.
“I mean how about this guy right here,” MHS head coach Dave Tallman said, pointing at Shrewsberry standing beside him. “Not only Shrewsberry but Izzy (Everett), and Jacob King, and we have a pretty good point guard (Young) that gets his guys the ball when they find their shooting pockets. When we share the ball, we get great shot opportunities and have guys that can make them.”
MHS held a slim lead midway through the first quarter 6-4, as neither team had found its rhythm on the offensive end yet. That changed quickly for the home team as the Mohigans added three more triples before the end of the frame that helped them extend the lead to 17-8.
The Hawks hadn’t done anything to give the lead away, as they had some open looks also. Morgantown did well to limit UHS on the boards and just couldn’t seem to miss, and it carried into the second quarter.
“Sharron does a great job of finding us in our spots and in good positions to shoot the ball,” Shrewsberry said. “It’s something we work hard on every day, all of us on the team, and we have confidence in ourselves and each other to make shots.”
Young and Shrewsberry each added another three in the second as MHS opened a lead doubling up the Hawks at 38-19 at halftime. Sharron Young matched the total of UHS at the break with 19 of his own.
“They shot the lights out,” UHS coach Barry Sanders said, who was acting head coach in place of Joe Schmidle, absent with an illness. “52% from three and they had open looks. Our defense needs to be better and we need to limit transition against a team like that and our guys didn’t do the best job of getting back.”
UHS opened the second half with improved offense and found some good baskets, but the Mohigans seemed to answer every one, slamming the door on any chance of a UHS comeback.
Sharron Young entered Tuesday’s contest 52 points away from breaking the all-time scoring record at MHS. His 33 points Tuesday means he is just 19 away from breaking Jay Jacobs’ 68-year record of 1,268 points set in 1956. The Mohigans will travel to White Sulphur Springs this weekend for a pair of contests at the Greenbrier Resort on Friday and Saturday nights.
“We all know who Jay Jacobs is, he is an icon around our school and city, and our state,” Tallman said. “68 years is a long, long time and there has been a lot of talent here that hasn’t got it done. Don’t want to jinx anything but Sharron has earned the chance to do this and we all know how hard he works. He’s so talented and not only does he score but he also gets a ton of assists and he is our leading rebounder.”
MHS will tip-off against Greenbrier East on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and depending on the result, will play on Saturday at either 1:00 or 5:00 p.m. against either Shady Spring or Huntington.
BOX SCORE
Morgantown 86, University 52
UHS 8 11 16 17 – 52
MHS 17 20 21 28 – 86
University – Fortney-Garbart 10 0-0 23 Demadovich 2 3-3 7 Jackson 3 1-2 7 Coleman 1 0-0 2 Hudson 1 0-0 2 Ford 3 0-0 6 Henderson 1 0-0 2 Kleeh 1 0-0 3
Morgantown – Young 12 5-5 33 Shrewsberry 6 0-1 17 King 3 3-5 10 Colistra 5 0-0 10 Everett 3 0-0 8 Johnson 1 2-4 4 Frey 1 0-0 2 Savage 1 0-0 2
3pt. Goals – Morgantown 12 (Shrewsberry 5 Young 4 Everett 2 King 1); University 4 (Fortney-Garbart 3 Kleeh 1)
