Hewitt shines in Morgantown’s loss

BY ERIC HANLON The Dominion Post

Morgantown High School senior Ben Hewitt played what was perhaps his best game of the season Friday, in the Mohigans’ 61-38 loss to South Charleston in the Class AAA state semifinals.
Hewitt scored approximately two-thirds of the Mohigans’ points, recording 25 points and pulling down seven rebounds.
Undoubtedly, Hewitt was the best player on the floor in the game and was certainly the only bright spot for MHS.
Oddly enough, he would record the final 17 points of the game for MHS, while being the only Mohigans player to score in the second half.
In the third quarter, Hewitt was at his best, as he helped slice the Mohigans’ 14-point deficit to nine. Hewitt actually outscored the Black Eagles’ entire team by three points in the third.
As a matter of fact, Hewitt’s 25 points was the highest single-game performance to date by any player in this year’s Class AAA state tournament.
And if all of that isn’t impressive enough, Hewitt’s status was questionable before the game. He was taken out of the Mohigans’ previous game at halftime after banging his head on the gymnasium floor. He did not return.
Tournament over
for area schools
Four local teams, within about 30 miles of Morgantown, qualified for the state tournament.
Some, such as Morgantown and Trinity Christian, entered as potential favorites. Others squeaked in by the skin of their teeth [Grafton and Preston] and were heavy underdogs.
The local teams did not fare as well as they had originally, combining for a 1-4 record while only one team [Morgantown] advanced past the first round.
Then again, it isn’t impossible to put a gloss on these losing efforts, as the locals all lost to extremely difficult opponents. In fact, three of their opponents, Wyoming East, which defeated Grafton; South Charleston, which defeated Morgantown; and Capital, which defeated Preston, have all advanced to the state championship game.
No surprises at tourney
A sign that reads “March Madness” hangs outside the Charleston Civic Center. The sign, of course, is alluding to the NCAA college basketball tournament that we have all come to know and love.
The attraction of the NCAA Tournament is the sheer number of games played, as well as the inevitable wave of upsets, or the “Madness,” if you will.
Things have not been as “Mad” as advertised inside the Civic Center. Of the 18 games played in the state tournament, the higher seed has won all but two times.
Of course, this is a credit to the seeding of this tournament, but it also takes some of the allure away, as the underdog never got the best of the favorites.
This is unfortunate for the local schools, as none was the higher seed in its games except for Morgantown, which would eventually lose in the semifinal as the lower seed.