MORGANTOWN — The box score at the end of this article won’t show everything Brady Savage did on Friday night.
The Morgantown High School junior was everywhere though in a 60-46 win over Wheeling Park. The victory secured the Class AAAA Region I, Section 1 boys’ basketball title for the Mohigans (22-1).
Savage finished with seven points and seven rebounds, but it was the little things that stood out in the victory.
“He was huge tonight,” MHS head coach Dave Tallman said. “We had other guys that were kind of sleepwalking and not ready to play on the bench. So, he logged probably about 30 minutes which is not what he typically does. He is a workhorse inside for us and on the boards.”
It was Savage who was constantly around loose balls, double-teaming on the MHS press and harassing the Wheeling Park offense.
“I know if I do the dirty work and anything I can to help the team win then it opens everyone else up to make shots,” Savage said. “I have to give 100 percent effort all the time – that’s just the person that I am.”
Even with Savage doing those little things, the Patriots (15-8) had the Mohigans on the ropes in the third quarter.
With 5:24 left in the third, MHS standout Sharron Young picked up his third foul and was forced to the bench with just four points.
That’s when backup point guard Marty Johnson went to work. With MHS trailing 35-29, it was Johnson who scored six points during a 14-2 run that spanned the end of the third quarter and into the fourth before the Patriots could respond. By that time, the Mohigans had built a 43-37 lead.
“The ironic thing is we got Young to the bench, and they went on a run,” Wheeling Park head coach Michael Jebbia said. “They hit a couple of big shots and went from being down six, to up six.”
With that six-point lead, the Mohigans turned back to Young who scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.
“Sharron has been sick the last three or four days and hasn’t practiced,” Tallman said. “He’s not feeling good and it kind of showed tonight. But in the fourth quarter, he was our closer. I told him that I just needed eight minutes and he came up big.”
The Patriots relied on the three-point shooting of junior Aiden Davis who finished with five triples and a total of 21 points. Mykel Davis added 14 points as the Patriots had just three players score in the game.
“I think our depth really showed up tonight,” Tallman said. “I mean, watch out for Marty Johnson next year and the rest of this year. He’s a backup point guard and doesn’t get a lot of press, but he did a heck of a job defensively and he’s probably one of the best defenders in the state.”
Izzy Everett led the MHS attack with 17 points while Johnson and Young each scored 15.
The Mohigans, the two-time defending state champions, will now host cross-town rival University on Thursday in the Class AAAA Regional with a trip to Charleston on the line.
BY ERIC HERTER
BOX SCORE
Morgantown 60, Wheeling Park 46
1 2 3 4 F
WPHS 13 14 10 9 46
MHS 12 11 20 17 60
WPHS – A. Davis 8 2-2 23, Johnson 4 0-0 9, M. Davis 6 0-0 14, K. Davis 0 0-0 0, Lewis 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 2-2 46.
MHS – Everett 6 2-4 17, King 2 0-0 4, Young 5 4-4 15, Shrewsberry 1 0-0 2, Savage 3 1-2 7, Johnson 5 5-6 15. Totals 22 12-16 60.
3-Pointers – WPHS: A. Davis 5, Johnson, M. Davis 2. MHS: Everett 3, Young.
Fouled Out – WPHS: Lewis.
