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CLARKSBURG, W.Va. – The Morgantown boys’ basketball team avenged its only loss of the season with a 56-44 win over Robert C. Byrd on the road.
The win snapped RCB’s historic winning streak.
“I feel like a proud papa,” MHS coach Dave Tallman said. “I’m so proud of our guys for showing the determination and toughness it takes to win a tough game when things aren’t going your way. We were very resilient and found a way through defense in the second half. Coach Bennett at RCB does a heck of a job and I’m thankful that they gave us another opportunity to play. That shows that they have a great leader who is all about getting his team better.
The Mohigans and Eagles started out locked in the first quarter with RCB taking the one-point lead at the switch, but they were able to take a seven-point lead going into the half following a 15-9 run in the second quarter.
Morgantown fought to chip away at the Eagles’ lead in the third, but was only able to stay afloat until a critical 20-2 run in the final stanza helped the Mohigans (7-1) secure the win.
Luke Bechtel led three MHS scorers in double digits with 14, while Xavier Pryor (12) and Alec Poland (10) combined for 22.
Bryson Lucas led the Eagles with 25 points.
“Xavier Pryor was great again. [Carson] Poffenberger grabbed six huge boards in the second half. Luke [Bechtel] did a great job defensively of a great player who had 19 points at the half. AP and Brooks Gage continued to play well and Sha-Ron and Cam Rice have us a lot of juice off the bench,” Tallman said. “It was a great team effort and my coaching staff was a big help.”
Morgantown’s next game is Saturday at home, hosting Bridgeport at 3:30 p.m.
Clay-Battelle defeats East Hardy 71-51
The Clay-Battelle boys’ basketball team upended East Hardy on the road Thursday night, defeating their 1A counterparts, 71-51.
East Hardy took the early 15-12 lead, but a big second and third quarter by the Cee-Bees (8-1) put them on top for good.
Senior Mojo Chisler led four C-B players in double digits with 20 points, while Gavin Moore added 18, Tanner Hennen tossed in 14 and Gage Statler had 11.
East Hardy was led by Christian Dove and Justin Teets with 13 each. Dawson Price added 10.
“To come in to a gym three hours away against a tough team and atmosphere, and walk away with a win shows how hard our boys worked tonight,” C-B coach Josh Kisner said. “The first half was back and forth for a while, then we broke away in the third quarter with a fantastic display of team basketball.”
Clay-Battelle returns to action against Weir at 1:30 p.m.
Girls’ basketball
Clay-Battelle falls to Madonna 37-28
Clay-Battelle and Madonna were locked in the first half, but the Blue Dons doubled C-B’s points in the third and held onto their lead in the fourth to defeat the Cee-Bees, 37-28.
Liv Ammons led C-B with 12 points while Cam Watson tacked on 10.
“If you had told me before the game that we would hold Madonna to only 37 points, I would’ve said we would have had a pretty good chance of winning,” C-B coach David Joyce said. “Unfortunately, we had a lot of unforced turnovers and couldn’t capitalize on some opportunities tonight that resulted in single-digit quarters throughout.”
Clay-Battelle returns to action Saturday at Tygarts Valley. Action begins at 2:30 p.m.
Preston defeats No. 10 Buckhannon-Upshur 48-45
Preston looked as if they’d easily put away 10th-ranked Buckhannon-Upshur, but a fourth-quarter surge by the Buccaneers contested that thought. The Knights were able to hold on, though, behind 18 points from Carsynn Sines and 15 points from senior Michelle Thomas.
The Knights led B-U 35-30 at the end of three, but the Buccaneers charged out to a 7-0 lead in the first minutes of the fourth to take the lead. With under a minute left, Preston found some room to retake the lead, and thanks to two free throws from Izabela Stahl the Knights were able to hold a 3-point lead with 30 seconds on the clock. B-U’s last-attempt 3 to force overtime fell short, and the Knights walked away with the win.
SWIM
Morgantown girls, Parkersburg South boys sweep tri meet
Parkersburg South’s boys and Morgantown’s girls swept their respective tri meets Wednesday night as the swim season continues to edge closer to regionals.
The South boys’ team defeated UHS, 128-56, and MHS, 123-105, while the Mohigans picked up a win over the Hawks, 135-62. The Morgantown girls’ team easily defeated the Patriots (145-86) and the Hawks (147-92) while PSHS edged UHS, 115-93.
Morgantown sophomore Caroline Riggs won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:55, just ahead of UHS senior Mia Rice at 2:00. She also won the 100 fly (59.47). Delaney Householder picked up wins in the 200 IM (2:18) and 500 free (5:27), while Olivia Newman picked up a win in the 100 free (1:09). For UHS, Rice won the 100 breast easily in 1:13. Finally, the MHS 400 free A relay team picked up the Mohigans’ final win of the day, finishing at 3:50.
On the boys’ side, Frankie McCutchan won the 200 free in 1:49, as well as the 500 free in 4:52 for the Hawks. Carter Redelman secured a win in the 100 back for MHS at 1:03, and Preston Householder garnered a first-place finish in the 200 IM at 2:24.
Middle school basketball
Suncrest 7’s 34, South 58: Kelton Blunt led Suncrest (4-4) with 12.
Suncrest 8’s 63, South 43: Suncrest’s Brady Savage led all scorers with 20, Marty Johnson contributed 17 and Kylan Blunt added 9. Suncrest (8-0) plays again on Tuesday at 7:15 p.m.
Mountaineer 7s 64, Westwood 4: Mason Kemper led Mountaineer Middle with 12 points.
Mountaineer 8s 53, Westwood 34: Coen Henderson led Mountaineer with 15 points in the win. Zach Demidovich paced Westwood with 12.
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