Mohigans buzz EFHS
Win in tune-up for Fairmont Sr.
Bob Gay/The Dominion Post
Morgantown senior Justin Vidovich tries to shoot against the good defense of Cole Slaman in the Mohigans' 72-63 NCAC victory at East Fairmont, on Wednesday. Vidovich scored a game-high 21 points for MHS.
BY DUANE RANKIN
The Dominion Post
FAIRMONT -- Morgantown High is faring much better on its two-game road trip than West Virginia University.
While the Mountaineers dropped below .500 by losing at Rutgers and have to face Seton Hall later this week, the Mohigans answered every East Fairmont challenge in their 72-63 NCAC victory Wednesday night, at The Hive.
"We have never had an easy game in this place," MHS head coach Tom Yester said. "Never. I'm just glad to get a win here. East Fairmont drives you nuts. They have that 3-point shooting. When our guys had to step up, they stepped up."
Justin Vidovich scored 21 points to lead No. 9-ranked Morgantown to the NCAC road victory. The Mohigans (8-2, 4-1) return to Fairmont on Friday night to take on No. 5 Fairmont Senior in a much-anticipated NCAC matchup, at The Woody Williams Armory.
The Polar Bears (10-0, 5-0) remained perfect after Stephen Sutherland hit a half-court shot at the buzzer to give them a 41-39 victory at North Marion.
"We're going to really have to play a lot harder than we did against East Fairmont," Vidovich said. "We're going to have to put pressure on the ball and hit the boards and hustle. It's going to be a good game, but we should come out on top if we just play hard and play the way we should be playing."
Vidovich proved to be the difference for the Mohigans. He scored 12 of his 21 points in the second half, hitting clutch shots throughout the final two quarters.
With East Fairmont (5-4, 4-3) trailing, 43-41, midway through the third quarter, Vidovich made a 3-pointer and delivered an assist to Seth Fogarty that led to consecutive 3-point plays. That put MHS ahead, 49-41.
With a little more than three minutes to play, Vidovich canned a 3-pointer from the corner to give MHS a 64-57 advantage.
"Vidovich is a great player," MHS forward Ronnie Shaver said. "He's always had the mental ability to say, 'Hey, give me the ball. I'm going to make the important shot.' He's been doing it recently. He had a little slump earlier in the year, but he got out of that.
"He would take a 3-pointer you wouldn't even think he's going to make and he drains it right when we need it the most," Shaver continued. "He gives us an edge. He wants the ball like the rest of us, but he does a good job of keeping us in the game by taking those shots and not being afraid. It takes a lot of confidence to shoot the 3-pointer because if you miss, people may boo you, but he doesn't think like that and that's good."
Shaver aided Vidovich with 16 points. He had 12 to lead Morgantown to a 34-30 halftime lead. Nick Hedges added 12 points for MHS.
While Morgantown's scorers were instrumental in the win, the Mohigans' defense did the job on East Fairmont's Jimmy Wyant. Averaging 17 points a game, Wyant made just one field and only scored four points.
Tyler DeVault led East Fairmont with 15 points. MHS beat East Fairmont by 20 points at home earlier this year.
* Another overtime game ended in defeat for Preston High.
The Knights (2-11, 0-8) lost their fourth overtime game of the season, this one to Elkins, 71-62.
Preston led by eight points with three minutes to go before Elkins rallied to send the game into overtime. The Knights committed 18 of their 24 turnovers in the second half.
Nick Patella scored a game-high 31 points, hitting half of Elkins' eight 3-point shots.
Thomas Hooton scored 19 points and Chris Hartley and 17 for Preston. Steve Adams added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Knights.
MORGANTOWN 72, EAST FAIRMONT 63
MORGANTOWN (8-2, 4-1)
Hedges 4 3-5 12, Prim 1 1-2 3, Shaver 6 4-5 16, Vidovich 9 1-1 21, Dalton 0 0-0 0, Fogarty 3 3-3 9, Murray 0 0-0 0, Rodamer 2 0-0 2, Simpson 2 3-4 7, Williams 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 15-20 72.
EAST FAIRMONT (5-4, 4-3)
Hadox 1 0-0 2, Boyles 0 0-0 0, Ralphsynder 3 0-0 8, Wyant 1 2-2 4, DeVault 7 1-2 15, Slaman 2 0-0 6, Hoffman 1 0-0 2, Morris 3 0-0 6, Stephens 3 2-2 8, Sachetti 0 0-0 0, Conner 6 0-0 12, Wray 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 5-6 63.
Mogantown High19 15 19 19 -- 72
East Fairmont13 17 17 16 -- 63
3-point goals--Morgantown 3 (Vidovich 2, Hedges 1), East Fairmont 4 (Ralphsynder 2, Slaman 2).
PRESTON (2-11, 0-8)
Hooton 7 3-4 19, Hartley 6 3-3 17, Hayes 2 0-0 6, White 0 2-3 2, Born 1 0-0 2, Adams 5 2-3 12, Taylor 2 0-0 4. Totals 23 10-13 62.
ELKINS
Williams 2 0-0 4, Pingley 1 0-0 2, Nucilli 2 0-0 5, Canfield 5 0-0 12, Nick Patella 9 9-11 31, Smith 0 2-2 2, Nick Phillips 3 4-7 11, Roberts 1 0-0 2, Wilson 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 15-20 71.
Preston12 15 18 10 7 -- 62
Elkins 7 10 15 13 16 -- 71
3-point goals--Preston 6 (Hooton 2, Hartley 2, Hayes 2). Elkins 8 (Patella 4, Canfield 2, Nucilli 1, Phillips 1.