Patriots no test for athletic Mohigans
PREP ROUNDUP
BY MARK SCHRAF
For The Dominion Post
Even before its Tuesday home game against Parkersburg South had tipped off, the No. 7 Morgantown High boys’ basketball team held both an 18-to-5 and a 4-to-2 advantage.
The 18-5 bulge? That’s the total number of inches above six-feet of the two team’s five starters. And 4-to-2 indicates the number of seniors on each team.
Combine superior length with experience — not to mention athleticism and teamwork — and it’s not surprising that the result was an 85-45 blowout win for the Mohigans (2-0).
Taylor Price dominated early, scoring from the baseline on a series of soft jumpers, putbacks, and a monster driving dunk on 6-of-6 shooting in the first quarter to send a strong message for MHS coach Tom Yester’s veteran team.
“Taylor was very good tonight,” Yester said. “He dominated down low, as he should have, since South just didn’t have anyone who could compete with him physically. He helped us start fast and set the tone early.”
MHS led 13-1 quickly and finished the first quarter up 22-8 behind Price’s 12 points and teammate Carlton Drake’s seven.
A pair of 3-pointers by MHS wingmen Evan Berryhill and Dean Marshall to start the second quarter extended the Mohigans’ lead, which quickly stretched to 34-11. The Patriots were able to give MHS a bit of trouble after switching to a full-court pressure defense and converted a few turnovers, but a flurry of steals from the aggressive and active MHS half-court defense produced several easy baskets and a commanding 41-16 halftime lead.
It was more of the same in the second half for the Mohigans’ big men, although the third quarter belonged to sophomore Nathan Adrian, who scored nine of his 11 in the quarter.
The fourth quarter was dominated in the paint by junior Conner Loudin, who scored all 12 of his points in the frame with a strong presence around the rim.
Price led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 3-of-4 from the foul line. Despite the good start, Price cautioned against too much praise for his team.
“It’s good to get out to a good start, both in this game and the season, but we have a long way to go,” he said. “We’re definitely a work in progress. We did some good things tonight, but we need to rebound more consistently, and our help defense needs to be much quicker.”
Yester agreed.
“I was pretty happy with our half-court offense in general, but I agree with Taylor, we have things to work on,” Yester said. “I thought we didn’t convert very well in the transition game, and we have to clean things up when we are breaking the press. And weakside help defenders were a step slow in getting there, so we have to be aware and recognize when to step up.”
P PA AR RK KE ER RS SB BU UR RG G S SO OU UT TH H ((22--22))
Tyler Bolen 2 0-0 5, Brady Munday 0 2-3 2, Dillon Lawrentz 1 0-0 2, Doug Dennis 4 4-6 13, Kyle Johnson 0 1-2 1, Tyler Parr 1 0-0 3, Deandre Price 1 0-0 3, Chris Neal 3 3-3 9, Wes Mitchem 3 0-2 6, Logan Cox 0 1-4 1, Totals 15 11-20 45.
M MO OR RG GA AN NT TO OW WN N ((22--00,, 11--00 iin n O OV VA AC C))
Evan Berryhill 1 1-2 4, Sam Lusk 2 1-2 5, Alex Watson 2 1-4 5, Michael Keffer 1 3-4 5, Dean Marshall 3 1-2 8, Carlton Drake 4 0-0 9, Nathan Adrian 5 1-2 11, Ben Blemmings 1 1-2 3, Austin Agnew 2 0-0 4, Taylor Price 8 3-4 19, Connor Loudin 3 6-8 12, Totals 33 18-30 85.
P Pa arrk k..S So ou utth h 88 88 1111 1188— —4455 M Mo orrg ga an ntto ow wn n 2222 1199 2211 2233— —8855
33--p po oiin ntt g go oa allss:: Parkersburg South 4 (Bolen, Dennis, Parr, Price), Morgantown 3 (Berryhill, Marshall, Drake).
UHS 59, Bridgeport 55
Alex Harrison scored the game’s final four points as the University High boys’ basketball team defeated visiting Bridgeport, 59-55.
Harrison, who finished with a game-high 24 points and nine rebounds, hit a layup in the final minute to put UHS up, 57-55. On the ensuing Bridgeport possession, Harrison blocked a shot and was fouled. He then hit both free throws to seal the game for the Hawks (2-1).
B BR RIID DG GE EP PO OR RT T ((00--33))
Hitt 3 2-4 8, Haywood 6 1-1 13, Koon 5 0-2 10, Oliverio 2 0-0 6, Sprouse 5 2-2 14, Ash 1 2-3 4. Totals 22 7-12 55.
U UN NIIV VE ER RS SIIT TY Y ((22--11))
Perrott 0 0-0 0, Harrison 10 4-4 24, Baldy 1 0-0 2, Spirou 1 0-1 3, Nagy 6 3-3 18, Favro 0 1-2 1, Nieman 1 0-0 2, Payton 3 0-0 9. Totals 22 8-10 59. B Brriid dg ge ep po orrtt 1111 1144 1155 1155— —5555 U Un niiv ve errssiitty y 1111 2233 1122 1133— —5599
33--p po oiin nttg go oa allss::Bridgeport 4 (Oliverio 2, Sprouse 2), University 7 (Spirou, Nagy 3, Payton 3).
C-B 80, Valley Wetzel 50
Clay-Battelle jumped out to an early lead and cruised to a victory over Valley Wetzel.
Tristan Haught scored a game-high 20 points and knocked down four 3-pointers for the Cee-Bees (4-1). He was one of three players to score in double-figures for Clay-Battelle.
Jeremy Burch also connected on four 3-pointers and led Valley Wetzel with 16 points.
C CL LA AY Y--B BA AT TT TE EL LL LE E ((44--11))
King 2 7-10 11, Statler 3 0-0 6, Haught 8 0-0 20, Cottrell 1 2-2 4, Chisler 2 0-0 6, Roush 1 4-5 6, Opyoke 6 1-3 13, Patterson 3 1-2 7, Joyce 1 0-0 2, J. Chisler 2 1-2 5. Totals 29 16-24 80.
V VA AL LL LE EY Y W WE ET TZ ZE EL L
Price 0 0-0 0, Jenkins 2 0-0 5, Anderson 1 0-0 2, Morris 2 0-0 4, Henderson 4 2-2 11, Wade 1 2-4 4, Nolan 0 0-0 0, Burch 5 2-2 16, Siveat 0 0-0 0, Ueltschy 1 6-9 8. Totals 16 11-17 50. C Clla ay y--B Ba atttte elllle e 2233 99 2211 2277— —8800 V Va alllle ey y W We ettzze ell 1111 77 1144 1188— —5500
33--p po oiin nttg go oa allss::Clay-Battelle 6 (Haught 4, Chisler 2). Valley Wetzel 6 (Burch 4, Henderson, Jenkins).
Trinity 68, Grafton 47
Trinity senior Chris Martinez recorded a double-double, scoring a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds as the Warriors (6-0) defeated Grafton.
Trinity senior A.J. Mayle also had a big game, scoring 19 points, while adding six assists, four rebounds and four steals. Fellow senior Jordan Selders scored 13 points in the win.
Colby Mills (10 points) and Ivy Bartlett (12 points) were double-digit scorers for Grafton (0-1).
T TR RIIN NIIT TY Y ((66--00))
Jordan 3 0-2 6, Mayle 6 4-4 19, Selders 4 3-4 13, Martinez 7 8-9 22, McLaughlin 2 0-4 4, Triplett 1 1-2 3, Hozempa 0 1-2 1. Totals 23 17-28 68
G GR RA AF FT TO ON N ((00--11)) Hunt 1 0-1 3, Runner 4 0-2 8, Mills 4 0-0 10, Bartlett 5 2-2 12, Langford 5 0-5 10, Evans 1 0-0 2, Robinson 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 2-9 47 T Trriin niitty y 1155 1166 2222 1155— —6688 G Grra afftto on n 1100 1144 1111 1122— —4477
33--p po oiin ntt g go oa allss:: Trinity 5 (Mayle 3, Selders 2). Grafton 3 (Hunt, Mills 2).
Freshman girls’ basketball
Morgantown 69, North Marion 44: Alexa Rudolph led the Mohigans with 15 points and 11 rebounds while Nicole Walker charted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Allison Lynch and Elaina Smith each also had 12 points for Morgantown (4-0).
Middle school boys’ basketball
St Francis 7s 54, Westwood 22: Nick Soloman scored 18 points for St. Francis (5-0). Cody Hardisty led Westwood (1-2) with 14 points.
St. Francis 8s 49, Westwood 26: Steve Soloman scored a game-high 18 points for St. Francis (5-0), while Dylan Cole led Westwood (2-1) with eight points.
Central Preston 47, Trinity 35: Central Preston’s Spencer Lively had 13 points and Spencer Murphy added 12. Trinity (4-2) was led by Adam Robertson (12 points) and Tyler McLaughlin (10). Central Preston (3-0) plays at South today.
Middle school girls’
basketball
Mountaineer 8s 44, South 34: Brooke Marshall led Mountaineer Middle with 20 points, while Rachel Gaspar added 12. Sydney Holloway scored 10 to pace South.

Bob Gay/The Dominion Post

Morgantown High’s Carlton Drake (31) drives in for an open lay-up Tuesday. The Mohigans beat Parkersburg South, 85-45.