MHS's five too much for South Charleston duo

Jonah Myers/The Dominion Post

Morgantown's Migel Lockett takes flight against South Charleston.

BY JUSTIN JACKSON

The Dominion Post

Two against five just doesn't seem fair in a basketball game, right?

It almost wasn't fair for the No. 3-ranked Morgantown High boys' basketball team as the Mohigans got more than they bargained for in an 82-74 victory over South Charleston on Monday, in the first round of the Coaches Against Cancer Holiday Classic, at Morgantown High.

The two belonged to the Black Eagles' high-powered all-state scoring duo of guard Klint Frazier and forward Josh Daniel.

Daniel finished with a game-high 37 points and Frazier shot lights-out in the first half and finished with 23 points. It was nearly enough to slip by the Mohigans (3-0).

"Well, (South Charleston) sure did find their teammates more than we could on defense," MHS coach Tom Yester said. "They were doing a good job of finding those two on offense."

The victory advances the Mohigans to today's championship game against No. 4 George Washington, which beat Atholton, Md., 75-37, in the first game.

The championship game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

SC (0-3) held a 39-35 halftime lead and upped the lead to seven points midway in the third quarter. The Mohigans came back to tie the game and then outscored the Black Eagles, 27-19, in the fourth quarter.

"It was the kind of game that we love to play," said MHS forward Chris Carey, who finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. "Running up and down and getting out in the open, that's the fun way to play. I'm sure it's a lot more fun for the fans to watch, too."

It wasn't the type of first half the Mohigans would like, though.

"Well, I'm pleased with the win, especially with the way we played in the first half," Yester said. "We just couldn't get any consistency from anyone. We'd be hot for a few minutes and then get cold. They were hot for the entire first half."

Daniel had 20 points by halftime and Frazier had 18. Just how important is the duo to South Charleston? They were the only ones to score in the first half, except when teammate Jeremy Booker hit a free throw with 1:13 remaining in the second quarter.

The Mohigans got hot in the second half, as Migel Lockett and Carey started to score almost at will and John Oliver and Marlin Robinson became the third and fourth scorers MHS needed.

Lockett scored 25 points and Oliver hit three 3-pointers to finish with 17 points. Robinson went a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line to finish with 12 points.

"Migel, Oliver and Carey really stepped it up in the second half," Yester said. "We were usually able to find somebody. Oliver would have a hot stretch and then Carey scored five times in a row and I think Migel might have done the same thing. Migel really showed tonight what he's capable of."

MHS also did a better job on defense against Frazier, holding him to five points in the second half.

"With the way Daniel was playing, there wasn't much we could do," Yester said. "We stuck Migel on Frazier in the second half to put more pressure on him. We also switched our defenses. We played both zone and man-to-man."