MHS 87, P’BURG SOUTH 57
Mohigans have fun in easy win over Patriots
BY ERIC HANLON The Dominion Post

It has been an up and down season this year for the Morgantown High School boys’ basketball team, but Friday night’s game was all up as the Mohigans won big, 87-57.
Not only did the Mohigans do basically everything right in their big win over the Patriots, but they also had fun doing it.
“We try to have fun, but winning is our first priority,” MHS senior Ben Hewitt said.
In the game, Hewitt scored 20 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. But, two of those points came once the Mohigans had a big lead late in the game on an alleyoop layup, much to the delight of those in attendance.
“When you’re winning you have fun,” MHS head coach Tom Yester said. “But I didn’t think too much of some of that stuff they were doing out there.”
On another occurrence late in the game, senior Zach Cooke, who scored 21 points on the night including five 3-pointers, drove the lane on a fast break, only to dish the ball behind his back at the last second to fellow senior Anthony Schifano for another easy two points.
“We had a good time out there,” Cooke said. “We were trying to work on some things, and get the ball to some other players in the second half. Over all the game was a real team effort.”
The game was a good team effort as the Mohigans got points from almost all of their players while others had their best game of the season.
“Everyone was pitching in. We didn’t get as many points from Schifano, [Craig] Carey or [Jay] Fletcher, but they still all played great and did their jobs,” Yester said. “Hewitt scored 20 and got 10 rebounds, plus Cooke was really hot so the guys were getting the ball to him.
“And then there was [Cody] Petitte who scored 12 and had his best performance of the year. He really is an athlete and was getting the ball under the net a lot. It was really good to get him going.”
The win has the Mohigans feeling pretty good after the early season stretch had them trading wins and losses on and off every other game. Finally the Mohigans have won two games in a row in the young season and the locker room after the game was a happy place to be.
Now more than ever, confidence is brewing. Fortunately Yester has had enough experience over the years to know how to handle their current situation.
“There’s an old saying that says: ‘When you think you’re good, you’re never as good as you think you are. And when you think you’re bad you’re never as bad as you think you are,’” Yester said. “In the game we shot 60 percent from the floor. That is really good. But we also had 20 turnovers and you won’t keep winning if you do that. We really need to take care of the ball better.”
Yester’s concerns aside, the Mohigans did play an outstanding game and from the tip-off to start the game, MHS controlled throughout.
The Mohigans jumped out to an early 16-9 lead to begin the game and oddly enough it wasn’t that the Patriots were playing poorly, it’s just that the Mohigans weren’t missing.
“It’s nice to finally play a good team and then put them away like we did today,” Yester said. “We have a lot of playmakers on this team.”

Todd Flint/The Dominion Post Morgantown’s Jeff Allen drives against Parkersburg South’s Wesley Vincent on Friday night.