Mohigans overcome Polar Bears’ hot start

MHS picks off many errant Fairmont Senior passes

Jason DeProspero/The Dominion Post
Morgantown’s Jeff Lindsay finds room to drive against the Fairmont Senior defense.

BY JOSH STROPE The Dominion Post
    Morgantown High coach Tom Yester knows what his schedule looks like. He knows University is only a week away, and so do his players.
    Words of advice: Don’t look too far ahead, you still have some other business to take care of.
    A slow start by the Mohigans (8-2) made it appear Fairmont Senior might make it interesting game, but Yester rallied his club and Morgantown came away with a 67-46 win against the Polar Bears.
    “We started out 6-0, then we went to sleep and let them take the lead,” Yester said.
    The Polar Bears (4-9) scored 10 straight points and ended the first quarter with a 13-10 lead against the sixth-ranked Mohigans.
    Jeff Lindsay scored three field goals for six points in the second quarter to put MHS back on top for good.
    “Lindsay was a nice burst off the bench to give us the lead,” Yester said.
    MHS outscored Fairmont Senior, 23-11, in the quarter to take the lead for good.
    “We were up around 16 or 17 points in the second half, and I never felt threatened with the way we were playing defense,” Yester said.
    FSHS did all it could to help with a horrendous passing game.
    The Polar Bears might have had more assists on Mohigans baskets than on their own.
    Coaches preach to win the turnover battle and MHS used the errant passes thrown by Fairmont Senior to keep up the tempo and allow for fast-break opportunities.
    “We only turned the ball over 10 times, I’d say that is pretty good,” Yester said.
    Dusty Kerns struggled with his shot in the first half, but found his touch in the second. Kerns hit two 3-pointers and went 7-for-8 from the foul line for 13 points.
    “Once he started to have fun and get his control together, he was effective and a huge lift for us,” Yester said.
    Chris Carey was the leading scorer for the Mohigans, with 15 points.
    Fairmont Senior has been a twoman show all season — Jay Carpenter and Dane Cimaglia. Carpenter was the leading scorer Thursday, with 12 points, and Cimaglia had 10.
    According to Yester, holding the sharpshooting duo to 22 points is a testament to the defense his team played.
    The rest of the Bears couldn’t pick up the slack and FSHS started getting out of sync.
    A plus that Yester sees in having almost his entire team get playing time. “They know they are going to play, how much depends on the circumstances of the game,” he said.
    With this game out of the way, Morgantown must remain focused and not look toward the Hawks next Thursday.
    The Mohigans first travel to Buckhannon-Upshur on Tuesday and Yester sees the potential for an upset.
    “They are a good team, they can shoot the lights out of the ball,” Yester said.
Freshman boys
    Tyrell Rembert scored 24 points and Yale Mendelson 14, leading Morgantown (10-0) past Fairmont Senior, 89-66. Zac McCullough had 21 and Jerry Kelly 16 for the Polar Bears.
    Rodney Swanson’s 16 points carried Preston past University, 41-38. Jaosn Tennant led the Hawks (8-4), with eight.
(6) Morgantown 67 Fairmont Senior 46
    MORGANTOWN (8-2)
    Carey 6 2-3 15, Kerns 2 7-8 13, Robinson 5 1-2 11, Dunn 2 2-3 6, Siriwardane 3 2-2 8, Lindsay 3 0-0 6, Hatfield 1 0-0 2, Law 2 2-2 6. Totals 24 16-20 67.
    FAIRMONT SENIOR (4-9)
    Brown 2 1-1 5, Cimaglia 4 0-1 10, Collins 1 0-1 2, Carpenter 5 0-0 12, Hailey 1 4-4 6, Gallagher 2 0-0 4, Maddox 2 0-0 5, Kettering 1 0-1 2. Totals 18 5-8 46. Fairmont Senior 13 11 9 15 — 46 Morgantown High 10 23 15 19 — 67
    3-pointgoals—Fairmont Senior 5 (Cimaglia 2, Carpenter 2, Maddox 1), Morgantown 3 (Kerns 2, Carey 1). Rebounds—Fairmont Senior 24 (Brown 10), Morgantown 27 (Carey 8). Junior varsity—Morgantown 81 (Karraker 13, Law 13), Fairmont Senior 44.