KINGWOOD, W.Va. – There wasn’t a whole lot to say past the first quarter in University’s Wednesday night road game at sectional opponent Preston, as the first-ranked Hawks stole the show and downed the Knights, 96-63.
That was until the Hawks’ star guards each had a scare. Kaden Metheny was the first to dodge injury when his shoe ripped at the heel, sending him out for a quick wardrobe change in the opening minutes of the second quarter. No Zion Williamson moment for him, thankfully. K.J. McClurg was the second to put the crowd on the edge of its seat, taking a big foul on a layup that sent him into the pine hands first. But just like Metheny he brushed it off and played the remainder of his minutes.
The duo combined for 54 points in the rout: 30 from Metheny and 24 from McClurg.
“Nobody got hurt, that’s the main thing,” UHS coach Joe Schmidle said.
The Knights (7-15) took the early lead over the Hawks (19-3) after trading buckets while Metheny and McClurg were warming up, but once the duo caught fire it was easy sailing on offense for UHS. Preston stayed afloat by knocking down three triples, but its weak post defense effectively permitted the Hawks to bully the Knights down low, taking a 10-point lead to end the first stanza.
The Hawks broke the game open in the second quarter, putting up 25 points while holding Preston to just nine, entering the half up 51-25. UHS combined went 10 of 20 from the floor to end the first half, five field goals coming from beyond the arc by McClurg.
Preston found some room in the third quarter to go on an 8-4 run, but after Schmidle called his second timeout of the game UHS began to find its groove once more to put up another 15 points to take a 72-46 lead heading into the final quarter. With the game in the bag, the Hawks slowly began rotating in JV players to close it out.
“I thought the kids played hard tonight, the effort was there,” Schmidle said. “We’ve got to get better in our rebounding on the defensive side. I wasn’t pleased with that. And our full-court pressure was not good. We were making fundamental mistakes in trying to trap in the middle of the floor that gave up easy buckets in transition.
“But I thought we shared the ball well and everybody got to play. Preston is a much-improved team and they clawed hard.”
Nick Smith led the Knights with 27 points, while Austin Metheny tossed in 10.
“We’ve had an up and down season – we’ve been dealing with injuries since before the first game,” PHS coach Paul Koontz said. “We’ve played hard and have had a couple of disappointing 1-point losses. The thing with this group is that they don’t stop working hard. We’re going to go watch film and put together a game plan for next week. We’re probably the only team in the state in the last game and then go play them again in sectionals.
“But it’s a challenge. It’s been like that the last few years so we’re used to it. We’re ready and will give it all we’ve got.”
Despite allowing 96 points, Koontz saw good things he’d like his team to carry over into next week.
“We played good defense,” he said. “Even though they scored 90 on [us], we still at times frustrated them a little bit. The biggest thing is we never gave up. We have to make shots though, take care of the ball a little bit better and we’ll be OK.”
Wardrobe malfunction
Though scary, Metheny’s shoe blowout isn’t the first time it happened. Unfortunately for him, he’s now out two pairs of shoes after he blew out a sneaker earlier this month.
“That’s the second Zion Williamson blowout he’s had in the last month,” Schmidle said. “It’s crazy, those were his favorite shoes that he blew out today.”
The new season starts
Wednesday’s game marked the final installment of the regular season for both UHS and PHS, but the two will see each other once more before one of their seasons ends. The Hawks are the No. 1 seed in the Region I, Section 2 tournament, while Preston is the No. 4 seed. The rematch is slated for next Wednesday at University High.
Should University defeat Preston and Morgantown defeat Buckhannon-Upshur in the 2-3 game, the rivals will face each other at UHS in the title game. And although the Hawks blew out the Mohigans in their last meeting in the OVAC championship game, Schmidle knows that isn’t the normal Morgantown team they faced.
“It’s going to be a completely different game,” Schmidle said when asked about the scenario. “Morgantown played bad and we played good [in the OVAC championship], and whoever shoots the best will win. That last game was not indicative of Morgantown, and I’m sure they’re ready for the next game. I’m sure they’re tired of hearing about [that loss].”
Smith ties for 4th in the all-time list
With his 27 points, Smith is now tied for 4th on the all-time scoring list at Preston High. Koontz believes Smith matched Chad Reese and should claim the No. 4 spot next week in the sectional semifinals, barring a significant shakeup.
Could’ve reached the century mark
The Hawks were just four points shy of breaking 100 points for the fifth time this year, and could have should the officials had not missed plenty of fouls on the Hawks. Luckily for UHS, they had no impact on the game itself.
University’s 100-point games were: Hurricane at the G Force Lock and Safe Holiday Classic on Dec. 21 (101-70), a homer against John Marshall on Jan. 25 (109-45), Woodrow Wilson at the Big Atlantic Classic on Feb. 1 (101-72) and Wheeling Park in the OVAC semifinals at home on Feb. 11 (108-69).
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