MHS’s Carey makes career games a habit

BY JOSH STROPE The Dominion Post


    It’s an old cliche: Big players step up in big games. Every coach, player, fan, and writer uses it to describe the efforts of one young man who has carried his team all year, and plays the game of his life when it matters most.
    Sure, it’s tired and worn out, but when Morgantown High’s Chris Carey stepped on the floor in Thursday’s sectional matchup against crosstown rival University, there were no other words to use.
    For the second time in a week’s span, and third time this year, Carey set a new career high in points, this time helping the Mohigans advance to the regional final with a 77-72 win against UHS.
    Carey scored 34 points, topping the 31 he set the previous Thursday in a win at Fairmont Senior.
    “This was probably one of my worst shooting nights, most of those were luck,” Carey said. “But sometimes, you need a little luck.”
    He scored 34 lucky points? What would he have done if he was on?
    After what Carey referred to as a major wakeup call in Saturday’s 80-56 loss to Parkersburg South, the Mohigans knew they had to come out with more fire.
    If playing University for a chance at the state tournament wasn’t enough to inspire the Mohigans, all they had to do was look at Carey’s intensity. He screams at his teammates, gets in the faces of his opponents, and most importantly, plays like it’s the last game of his life.
    “My teammates are always trying to calm me down,” Carey said. “I think they see me getting banged around and it’s making them want to play harder.”
    It seemed as if every time Carey went go to the basket, someone fouled him — not hard enough, though: The ball still found its way to the bottom of the net, and Carey would calmly step to the line and convert the oldfashioned 3-point play.
    For Carey, his senior season couldn’t get much sweeter. As if setting your career high in points wasn’t a special moment, doing it in your final game in the MHS gymnasium is definitely enough to make you teary-eyed.
    “This past year has been great, and to play like this tonight is more than you could hope for,” Carey said.
    Now, the only thing he needs to cement his legacy at MHS before continuing his career at Fairmont State is a state championship.
    “This team has been through a lot this year, but if we keep playing really hard, we are going to be tough to beat,” Carey said.
    The road to the state tournament continues Tuesday, at Wheeling Jesuit University, with a game for the Region I championship, against either Brooke or Wheeling Park.