MORGANTOWN — Some of the best girls’ basketball talent in the state will be on display this weekend as Morgantown High hosts the Buffalo Wild Wings Holiday Classic. Among the six programs on display include three top 10 squads from the latest West Virginia Coaches Association Poll.
“It’s a really good field of teams, and people in this area need to get out and watch this event because you’re going to see several kids that are going to play at the next level,” Morgantown coach Jason White said.
“Most people don’t realize how good girls’ basketball is across the state of West Virginia — most people look at it as just girls’ basketball and they don’t come out and watch, and that’s unfortunate, because they’re missing some really good kids.”
The action kicks off today, with the Mohigans (3-4) hosting Class AA No. 5 Winfield in the nightcap. On day 2, Morgantown will close the tournament against Chapmanville.
“I think this weekend is a great opportunity for us to step outside the conference and region and face two opponents who we never get to the opportunity to play most years,” White said. They are two of the better Class AA teams in the state and it will be a challenge for our kids on our home floor. I hope this weekend provides these teams an opportunity to battle teams from other areas of the state.”
Friday
4 p.m. – No. 5 (AAA) George Washington vs. No. 2 (AA) Fairmont Senior
5:45 p.m. – Martinsburg vs. Chapmanville
7:30 p.m – No. 5 (AA) Winfield vs. Morgantown
Saturday
9:30 a.m. – No. 2 (AA) Fairmont Senior vs. No. 5 (AA) Winfield
11:15 a.m. – Martinsburg vs. No. 5 (AAA) George Washington
5 p.m. – Morgantown vs. Chapmanville
Trinity Christian
The Trinity Christian boys’ and girls’ basketball teams will travel to Wheeling Jesuit this weekend the compete in the Undos Holiday Tournament.
On the boys’ side of action, the No. 2 Warriors enter undefeated (5-0). They’ll open action on Day 1 against Linsly. The winner will advance to the tournament final on day 2 to face the winner of No. 1 Wheeling Central Catholic and No. 4 Charleston Catholic, while the losers will meet in a consolation game.
“It’s always important to stay active over the holidays. The competition will be great,” said coach John Fowkes. “This time last year we went up there with the same record 6-1. Our goal this year is to come back 7-0.”
On the girls’ side, The Warriors (5-2) will face Charleston Catholic on day 1 and No. 4 Wheeling Central Catholic on day 2. A cancellation from the fourth school prevented a tournament format for the event.
“We are starting to mesh as a team and play good basketball. This weekend is a great way to finish out 2018,” coach Mike Baldy said.
Friday
Boys
Game 1 – 5:30 p.m. – Linsly vs. No. 2 (A) Trinity Christian
Game 2 – 8:30 p.m. – No. 4 (A) Charleston Catholic vs. No. 1 (A) Wheeling Central Catholic
Girls
7 p.m. – Trinity Christian vs. Charleston Catholic
Saturday
Boys
Game 3 (Consolation) – 5:30 p.m. – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 4 (Championship) – 8:30 p.m. – Winner Game 1 vs Winner Game 2
Girls
7 p.m. – No. 4 (A) Wheeling Central Catholic vs. Trinity Christian
Morgantown 58, Cherokee (Ga.) 44
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Morgantown High boys’ basketball team knocked off Cherokee (Ga.) on Thursday to open the Disney KBA tournament.
The Mohigans used a strong performance from guard Cam Selders, who scored 26 points to lead all scorers. Garrett Haines tacked on 12 points as another double-digit scorer.
MHS (5-1) will continue play at Disney today.
University 85, Socastee (S.C.) 77
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — The Hawks bounced back from a frustrating loss Wednesday by battling back to beat Socastee on Thursday in the Beach Ball Classic at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.
“It was an ugly game, we played bad and didn’t shoot the ball very well, but it was nice to get a win,” head coach Joe Schmidle said. “We started out really slow, were down 24-12 and only scored 12 points in the first 10 minutes. Then a switch went off, and we started making shots.”
Kaden Metheny and K.J. McClurg each finished with 23 points to lead UHS. Mike Maumbe finished with 10 rebounds for the Hawks, and Schmidle credits Ryan Nicelar for helping break the 1-2-2 defense, which allowed UHS to get back into the game.
The Hawks (6-1) will play Florence (Miss.) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday and will go up against Jaylen Forbes, a 4-star Alabama signee.
Buckhannon-Upshur 72, Preston 64
KINGWOOD — The Knights used a spark from Caleb Osborne off the bench with his 12 points, but it wasn’t enough as they fell at home.
The biggest reason, according to head coach Paul Koontz, was the Buccaneers winning the rebounding battle. Corey Pyles led PHS with 19 points.
The Knights (1-4) will play at John Marshall at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Girls’ basketball
University 66
Allegany 42
FROSTBURG, Md. — The Hawks had a solid offensive performance during the first day of the Mountain Ridge tournament.
“We played very well and got good shots,” assistant coach David Boggs said. “That was our game tonight and we played well offensively when we usually play well defensively.”
Abbie Coen led all scorers with 24 points, while Zoe Murphy (12), Mallory Napolillo (13) and Ashten Boggs (10) also scored in double figures.
UHS (5-3) will continue play at the Mountain Ridge Tournament at 7:30 p.m. today against Mountain Ridge.
