MORGANTOWN 59 THOMAS JEFFERSON 53
MHS boys catch fire late in win
Price, Adrian net 16 points apiece
BY ERIC HANLON
The Dominion Post
Facing a swelling deficit, it appeared the No. 5-ranked Morgantown High boys’ basketball team was doomed to be blown out by Thomas Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) in the Primetime Shootout on Friday, at University High.
False alarm.
No, seriously.
With six minutes remaining and the Mohigans down by 10, the fire alarms went off at UHS as the result of a ball striking one of the alarms in the auxiliary gymnasium during warmups for another game.
With the alarms sounding off and on for nearly 10 minutes, the teams opted to play through the noise.
Oddly, that seemed to spark a Morgantown comeback and an eventual 59-53 win, in overtime.
“I never even thought about it,” MHS head coach Tom Yester said of the alarms. “Sometimes at our school it goes off and we just go on with practice unless they make us leave.”
The Mohigans rolled off a 10-0 run to tie things by the end of regulation.
“During the game I was a little bit mad about it,” MHS senior Taylor Price said. “But hey, someone pulled the fire alarm and I guess it got our fire going.”
The Mohigans limited the Orange Wave (11-9) to four points in the fourth quarter and to six in overtime.
“We pressured a little bit and they held it for a long time,” Yester said. “They missed and we scored and took it to seven. They missed again and we scored and took it to five. So in two possessions, we got it back to a real game.
“Fortunately, when we went to the press because we were down, it worked. We were able to put pressure on them. Then when we got the lead, we made enough foul shots to win.”
Price was named the game’s MVP for scoring 16 points and pulling down six rebounds. He scored 10 points in the final eight minutes.
“You know Price, just because he’s mild mannered doesn’t mean he’s not competitive,” Yester said. “He’s gone from being a nice young boy to a man.”
MHS sophomore Nathan Adrian also had a big game, with 16 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
“Nathan is a young player and I think he has all the skill in the world,” Price said. “He can be so great, and I think he stepped up big time. Our tandem, in the state it might be one of the best.”
Price and Adrian played huge roles combating the much bigger, faster Orange Wave.
“They were athletic and that’s why we went into our 2-3 zone,” Price said. “Against teams like that, athletic teams, their weakness usually is shooting. So I think our zone really messed them up in that aspect.”
The win was eerily similar to one the Mohigans earned a year ago in the Primetime Shootout, against Marion-Frankin, out of Columbus, Ohio. Few thought MHS had a chance in that game either. Following that win, the Mohigans won 12 of their next 13 and made the state tournament.
“I like where we are at the moment,” Yester said. “But we can never be satisfied. And we have a lot of tough games to go. But, this is a great spot for us.”
T TH HO OM MA AS S J JE EF FF FE ER RS SO ON N ((1111--99))
Goodlet 2 5-8 9, Lynch 1 3-4 5, Grace 1 2-4 5 Hall 3 0-0 6, Avila 3 0-0 6, Thomas 0 0-0 0, Williams 4 0-4 10, Turpin 5 2-3 12. Totals 19 12-23 53.
M MO OR RG GA AN NT TO OW WN N ((88--11))
Berryhill 2 2-4 7, Drake 1 2-2 4, Keffer 1 3-4 5, Adrian 7 0-1 16, Price 6 4-5 16, Watson 2 3-4 7 Blemings 0 2-2 2, Lusk 1 0-0 2, Agnew 0 0-0 0 Totals 20 16-22 59. J Jo oh hn n M Ma arrssh ha allll 1122 1144 1177 55 66 — — 5533 M Mo orrg ga an ntto ow wn n 1155 1111 88 1133 1122 — — 5599
33--p po oiin ntt g go oa allss:: Jefferson 3 (Williams 2 Grace). Morgantown 3 (Adrian 2, Berryhill).

Jason DeProspero/The Dominion Post
Morgantown High’s Alex Watson (21) draws a foul from Thomas Jefferson’s Edson Avila, in their PrimeTime Shootout game Friday.

PRIMETIME SHOOTOUT
WHEN: Today WHERE: University High TICKETS: On sale at UHS, Triple S Harley-Davidson or The Greater Morgantown Convention & Visitors Bureau. $16 for adults, $8 for students. INFO: 800-458-7373
Today’s games
NOON: Quality Education (Winston-Salem, N.C.) vs. Our Savior New American (Centereach, N.Y.) 1:30 P.M.: Huntington Prep vs.
St. Benedict’s (Newark, N.J.) 3 P.M.: South Atlanta (Ga.) vs. Christ The King (New York City) 4:30 P.M.: Wheeling Park vs. Jamesville-DeWitt (N.Y.) 6 P.M.: Columbia, Ga., vs. Thomas Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 7:30 P.M.: Preston vs. Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 9 P.M.: Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) vs. Arlington Countr y Day (Jacksonville, Fla.)