Mohigans sweep tourney openers
Girls whip Mount View; boys bop Byrd
Jason DeProspero/The Dominion Post

Morgantown High's Justin Vidovich soars to the basket against Robert C. Byrd.

BY TODD MURRAY

The Dominion Post

Nick Hedges never hits the panic button when he finds himself looking up at the opposition's towering center.

The adrenaline simply begins flowing for Morgantown High's 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior post player.

So Hedges had to guard Robert C. Byrd's hulking 6-6 center, R.J. Coleman, Thursday night.

So what?

"Oh, man, I love it," Hedges said. "I'm used to it."

He played as if he was accustomed to it, too.

Hedges scored a team-high 16 points and pulled down seven rebounds as MHS defeated the Flying Eagles, 73-63, in the West Virginia Coaches Against Cancer Tournament, at MHS Gym.

"I'm obviously going to give up a few points against the bigger guys," said the versatile Hedges, who buried two 3-pointers. "I try to play to their weakness and see what happens. I try to outsmart them. That's all I can do."

MHS's victory puts the Mohigans (4-0) in tonight's championship game, against Parkersburg South, which beat Mount View in the other boys' game Thursday, 67-53. Tip-off is 8:30 p.m.

"Nick Hedges was very instrumental in our win," MHS coach Tom Yester said. "He did a nice job on Coleman. It looked like a basketball player against a football player out there."

Coleman, a tight end who is headed to Ohio State on a football scholarship, finished with 10 points. He was forced to the bench in the third quarter after picking up his fourth foul.

Hedges, who helped MHS to a 22-20 edge on the boards, scored nine points in a three-minute spree that started in the final 36 seconds of the first half. His bucket put the Mohigans ahead at halftime, 35-33.

Hedges then scored seven points in the first three minutes of the second half, as MHS opened an 11-point cushion, 48-37.

Hedges received plenty of help from his teammates. Point guard Bobby Prim sparkled with 13 points, four assists, three steals and only one turnover.

"That's Bobby," Hedges said. "He leads our team. If he's having a good game, the rest of us are going to have a good game. He'll find the guys who are open."

Seth Fogarty registered 11 points and five rebounds. Geremy Rodamer contributed 11 points off the bench. Ronnie Shaver struggled but still had seven points and six rebounds.

"We had nice balance with three starters in double figures," Yester said. "That's what wins games for you. Prim played a beautiful game, and other people filled in and did their jobs.

"I just hope we can continue to play good defense until our offense comes around."

Byrd's Michael DeFazio led all scorers with 19 points. Bobby Buffey added 15.

The Mohigans now turn their attention to Parkersburg South, which beat MHS in last year's Christmas tournament in Parkersburg.

For his part, Hedges can't wait to face this non-league rival.

"I didn't want to look past R.C. Byrd," he said, "but last year we lost two games to Parkersburg South. I'd like to play them now."

MHS girls 91, Mount View 34

The suspense left this one in a hurry.

Morgantown High scored the game's first nine points and cruised to victory in the West Virginia Coaches Against Cancer Tournament. The Mohigans will play Parkersburg South in the final, tonight, at 6:30.

"It was pretty much a mismatch," MHS coach Allan Collins said. "Our pressure started bothering them early. We did shoot the ball fairly effectively."

MHS (5-2) scored 31 unanswered points during an eight-minute stretch that began early in the second quarter and did not end until the 6:09 mark of the third.

Carmelita Jimenez and Daya Perkins led MHS with 15 points apiece. Taylene Michael scored 13 points in a reserve role. Beth Parsons scored 11.

The Mohigans face a difficult task tonight in battling Parkersburg South, which boasts 6-foot-5 center Anne Stephens.

"It's going to be a tall challenge," Collins said. "The Stephens girl was way too much for Laurel Highlands. It will be interesting to see how we can defend against them."

Box scores

MORGANTOWN HIGH BOYS 73, ROBERT C. BYRD 63

ROBERT C. BYRD (3-2)

Buffey 7 1-2 15, Coleman 5 0-0 10, DeFazio 7 3-5 19, C. Pettrey 2 1-2 5, Lockett 3 2-3 9, N. Pettrey 2 1-2 5, Prairie 0 0-0 0, Totals 26 8-14 63.

MORGANTOWN (4-0)

Shaver 2 3-4 7, Prim 5 1-2 13, Vidovich 1 5-6 7, Hedges 6 2-2 16, Fogarty 4 3-6 11, Rodamer 3 3-5 11, Murray 0 0-0 0, Simpson 3 1-2 7, Dalton 0 1-2 1, Totals 24 19-29 73.

Robert C. Byrd 16 17 16 14 -- 63

Morgantown High13 22 19 19 -- 73

3-point goals--Robert C. Byrd 3 (DeFazio 2, Lockett), Morgantown 6 (Prim 2, Hedges 2, Rodamer 2).

MORGANTOWNHIGH GIRLS 91, MOUNT VIEW 34

MOUNT VIEW (3-2)

Lane 2 0-1 4, Betts 0 0-0 0, Blair 0 0-0 0, Lester 0 0-0 0, Isabelle 1 1-5 3, Fazio 2 0-0 5, Foye 2 1-2 5, Bishop 6 0-3 12, Hill 1 3-4 5, Totals 14 5-15 34.

MORGANTOWN (5-2)

Leydig 3 2-2 9, Jimenez 7 0-0 15, Parsons 5 1-1 11, Rushford 0 0-0 0, Perkins 5 4-4 15, Deem 3 2-2 9, Jackson 1 0-0 2, Erenrich 2 0-0 4, Michael 3 7-9 13, Wigal 3 0-0 6, Burkhart 3 0-2 7, Totals 35 16-20 91

Mount View 13 4 9 8 -- 34

Morgantown High24 29 19 19 -- 91

3-point goals--Mount View 1 (Fazio), MHS 5 (Leydig, Jimenez, Perkins, Deem, Burkhart).