MHS’s Carey buries Hawks

Late basket decides ‘dogfight’ with UHS

BY JUSTIN JACKSON The Dominion Post
    You could break down No. 7 Morgantown High’s 72-66 victory against University on Thursday night about 1,000 different ways, but in the end, it all came down to one thing:
    Chris Carey would not let the Mohigans lose.
    In a game filled with enough runs that even Carl Lewis would have been tired and where the momentum switched back and forth all night, it was Carey who made the most crucial basket at the most crucial time in front of a sell-out crowd at the UHS gymnasium.
    The situation: UHS (8-9) had just cut a 67-58 deficit to 67-66 with 1:25 remaining in the game.
    The key for the Hawks was junior forward Dallion Lewis, who scored six of his 14 points in a two-minute span while the Mohigans (13-3) were held scoreless.
    “We didn’t play very smart during that time,” MHS coach Tom Yester said. “John Oliver took a 3 that he probably shouldn’t have taken. We should have tried to run more time off the clock, but we didn’t.”
    Carey, who finished with a gamehigh 29 points and added 10 rebounds, found himself with the ball on the left wing and with a decision to make, a decision he also faced this past Saturday, in a loss to Wheeling Park.
    “We ran the same play against Wheeling Park, except I stopped and took a 3-pointer,” Carey said. “Even though I hit some 3s earlier, I felt it was better to put the ball on the floor and take it to the basket.”
    With 1:11 remaining, Carey drove through the UHS defense and put up a tough shot that fell, plus he was fouled on the play.
    “I just knew we had to do something,” Carey said. “They were coming back and time was running out. I thought I had a good look, but I didn’t really see it go through.”
    Carey hit the free throw to make it 70-66.
    “That’s a big basket right there,” UHS coach Bruce Clinton said. “That took the momentum right from us. There was still time left, but we didn’t really get any good looks and then we were forced to foul.”
    Carey hit two more free throws for the final score.
    “I think what we established tonight was that both teams are on equal footing,” Clinton said. “The know they were in a game and they know they have to take us serious up here on Hawk Hill. We’re no longer a doormat.”
    Yester agreed. “Coach Clinton said earlier they can now play with anybody and I would tend to agree with that statement. It was a great game played by two very good teams tonight.”
    The Mohigans played without starting point guard Dusty Kerns, who has a shoulder injury. Jeff Lindsay took his place, scored a careerhigh 14 points and added six rebounds.
    “He definitely took advantage of the opportunity,” Yester said of Lindsay. “His play was key for us tonight. I thought it was a great team effort. It seemed like everybody had a key basket and I thought we rebounded well as a team tonight.”
    The runs began from the start. MHS began the game with an 8-0 run, before UHS came back to take a 21-20 lead early in the second quarter.
    The Mohigans then went on a 7-0 run and led all the way until Jedd Gyorko hit a layup to tie the score at 50 with 2:49 left in the third quarter. Grant Meadows then hit a follow-up basket and a free throw to give UHS a 53-50 advantage.
    The game was 55-55 heading into the fourth quarter.
    Gyorko led UHS with 22 points, including two deep 3-pointers from at least 26 feet. Lewis added 18 rebounds to go with his 14 points, and Meadows finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.
    Oliver hit five 3-pointers for MHS and finished with 15 points.
    The two teams will meet one last time, in the sectional tournament in March, at the MHS gymnasium.
    “Jedd was in never-never land tonight and his range is amazing,” Yester said. “The next game should be another dogfight. It’s the one that counts and you just hope both teams played as hard as the did tonight.”

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MHS VS UHS AWAY Jonah Myers/The Dominion Post Morgantown High’s Chris Carey launches another shot from within a triangle of University High Hawks: L.C. Jefferson (left), Grant Meadows (front, right) and Dallion Lewis.

Jonah Myers/The Dominion Post University’s Jedd Gyorko guards MHS’s Jeff Lindsay. Lindsay stepped into the starting lineup for injured point guard Dusty Kerns and scored a careerhigh 14 points. Gyorko had 22 points for the Hawks.