Robinson revs up stalled Mohigans

3-pointer sparks late run against rival

BY JUSTIN JACKSON The Dominion Post
    When things were going wrong Thursday night, Marlan Robinson made sure they eventually went right.
    Robinson scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half to lead No. 6 Morgantown to a 56-44 boys’ basketball victory against crosstown rival University High, at the MHS gymnasium.
    “Marlan got hot in the second half,” MHS coach Tom Yester said. “He started making his 3s and when he does that, he becomes nearly unguardable, because of his ability to take the ball to the hole.”
    Before Robinson’s scoring spree, the game had turned into exactly what you don’t want in a rivalry game.
    For nearly five minutes of a third-quarter scoreboard, the score remained: MHS 32, UHS 29.
    Fans became antsy; the teams had shots blocked, missed layups and traded turnovers.
    “That’s an important stretch of the game,” said UHS coach Bruce Clinton, who saw his team fall to 5-7. “We missed shots, good ones. We had good looks and couldn’t do anything. We didn’t run our offense during that stretch. We weren’t throwing enough picks.
    “If we can capitalize there and take a lead, it’s probably a different game, because then we can settle down and run our type of game.”
    The Mohigans (10-2), too, were out of sync.
    “I don’t think either team was doing what they were supposed to be doing,” Yester said. “I think both teams took a timeout during that stretch and nothing seemed to work.”
    Nothing, zero, el zilcho — until Robinson found himself at the top of the key with the ball in his hands. His 3-pointer broke the drought and gave the Mohigans a 35-29 lead.
    The Mohigans’ defense and free-throw shooting down the stretch took care of the rest.
    “Marlan got hot and that was key for them,” Clinton said. “He’s a good player and he woke up for them and that was the difference. They say good players make the plays; well, that’s what Robinson did and you have to credit him for that.”
    The 3-pointer woke up the rest of the MHS offense, which suddenly got its full-court running game going early in the fourth quarter. Dusty Kerns and Chris Carey got in the act and MHS led, 42-29, before UHS mounted a run that started with two 3-pointers from Matt Lemine.
    “We had a chance to take the lead up to 16, then we started to double (team) down low and that’s not what we wanted to do,” Yester said. “We doubled down low and they kicked it out and started making 3s on us, but that’s how things go sometimes.”
    It was the 11th consecutive win in the series for MHS, and like in recent games, the Mohigans dominated the rebounding category, 44-21. Robinson was key in that area, too, grabbing a game-high 13. Andrew Dunn came off the bench to add 10 rebounds. Grant Meadows led UHS, with seven.
    “We knew going in they would have that kind of advantage,” Clinton said. “Grant’s not the answer by himself, we have to have other guys. Everybody has to contribute and we didn’t do that tonight.”
    L.C. Jefferson had success by driving to the basket and finished with 14 points for the Hawks. UHS guard Jedd Gyorko was hounded by the MHS defense all night and finished with 10 points, nine below his average.
    Kerns added 12 points for the Mohigans, Carey 10, and John Oliver hit three first-half 3-pointers for nine points.
(6) Morgantown 56 University 44
    UNIVERSITY (5-7)
    Gyorko 2 4-5 10, Woods 0 0-0 0, Tarry 0 0-0 0, Jacobs 1 0-0 3, Jefferson 6 2-2 14, Lemine 2 0-0 6, Michael 2 1-2 5, Romain 0 0-0 0, Meadows 2 2-8 6. Totals 15 9-17 44.
    MORGANTOWN (10-2)
    Siriwardane 0 0-0 0, Kerns 4 4-4 12, Lindsay 0 0-0 0, Carey 4 2-3 6, Oliver 3 0-0 9, Law 1 0-0 2, Hatfield 0 0-0 0, Robinson 7 1-2 17, Dunn 1 4-4 6. Totals 20 11-13 56. University 11 12 6 15 — 44 Morgantown 18 12 7 19 — 56
    3-point goals—Morgantown 5 (Oliver 3, Robinson 2), University 5 (Gyorko 2, Lemine 2, Jacobs 1). Rebounds—Morgantown 44 (Robinson 13), University 21 (Meadows 7). Juniorvarsity—Morgantown 68 (Long 17), University 48 (Watts 13).
Jason DeProspero/The Dominion Post University High’

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Ryan Michael swats a shot by Morgantown’s John Oliver. Oliver still wound up with nine points to aid the MHS victory.