Sports in The Dominion Post
This article appeared in the Dominion Post Newspaper on February 14, 2003.
MHS battles past Hawks
13 victories in a row for Mohigans, 47-37
Bob Gay/The Dominion Post
Morgantown's Tyler Benson (left) and University's Casey Jackson wrestle for the ball.
BY JUSTIN JACKSON
The Dominion Post
Want to know what is so great about the Morgantown High-University High rivalry?
Take a look at Thursday night's boys' basketball game, for example.
The winning coach was disappointed.
The losing coach was pleased with his team's performance.
The entertainment was supplied by a Morgantown High student's ejection and escort from the gym by city police officers, plus the performances of the UHS cheerleaders and dance team at halftime.
And, oh, by the way, there was a basketball game somewhere in there.
MHS guard Chad Murray sparked a late third-quarter run and the sixth-ranked Mohigans woke up just in time to wipe away any chance of a University upset and walk out of the UHS gymnasium with a 47-37 victory.
"We didn't execute at all," MHS coach Tom Yester said. "We let them have all the offense. We acted like all we wanted to do for most of the night was play defense."
It was the 13th consecutive victory for the Mohigans (14-2, 10-1 in NCAC), while UHS (4-13, 2-10) dropped its second straight.
And the Mohigans have Murray, a key substitute off the bench on this night, to thank for the victory.
With the Mohigans leading, 29-27, late in the third quarter, Murray connected on a 3-pointer. As UHS tried to bring the ball up the floor, MHS point guard Geremy Rodamer came through with a steal and passed it to Murray, who made a layup and a free throw after being fouled.
All of a sudden it was 35-27. Game over.
"That was the turning point of the ball game," UHS coach Bruce Clinton said. "We just couldn't respond after that. We just pretty much played even with them after that sequence without making a push of our own."
"They couldn't recover after Murray's baskets," Yester added. "Give UHS credit for playing hard, but I think those plays kind of took the wind from their sails."
This game in the rivalry was a far cry, competition-wise, from recent games where the Mohigans dominated. MHS won the last meeting, 57-28, and the Hawks didn't reach double digits on the scoreboard until the third quarter.
"Just based on the last game, I thought our kids played much better," Clinton said. "Morgantown has tremendous athletes. Our kids went out there and hustled and did what they could. I have no problem with the way our kids played tonight. I can't fault their effort."
Yester could not say the same for his team, which is expected to advance far into postseason play.
"It was like our kids didn't have any enthusiasm out there," Yester said. "For one reason or another, we couldn't get excited."
Unusual, considering the rivalry usually brings out the best in both teams.
"Nothing surprises me with this bunch anymore," Yester said. "Maybe this game will wake us up a little bit."
Murray finished the game with eight points. Kameron Law led the Mohigans with 11.
The Hawks got nine points from David Casdorph and 10 rebounds from Jared Mayfield.
Box score
MORGANTOWN 47, UNIVERSITY 37
MORGANTOWN (14-2, 10-1)
Dalton 0 0-0 0, Fogarty 3 2-5 8, Minutelli 0 3-4 3, Murray 3 1-1 8, Rodamer 1 0-0 2, Simpson 2 0-0 4, Williams 0 0-0 0, Benson 2 1-2 7, Holt 0 0-0 0, Law 3 3-4 11, Torsney 2 0-0 4, Jones 0 0-0 0, Kerns 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 10-16 47.
UNIVERSITY (4-13, 2-10)
Cyphert 1 2-4 5, Dinsmore 2 0-0 6, Hoard 0 0-0 0, Mayfield 2 0-0 4, Kirelawich 0 0-0 0, Jackson 1 4-6 6, Clawges 2 0-1 5, Phillips 1 0-0 2, Spraggins 0 0-2 0, Polce 0 0-0 0, Casdorph 4 1-3 9. Totals 13 7-16 37.
Morgantown High15 7 13 12 -- 47
University High 9 10 8 10 -- 37
3-point goals--Morgantown 5 (Law 2, Benson 2, Murray 1). University 4 (Dinsmore 2, Cyphert 1, Clawges 1). Rebounds --Morgantown 33 (Law, Fogarty, Rodamer, Torsney 6), University 35 (Mayfield 10).