UNIVERSITY 48 MORGANTOWN 47
Great times for U-High right now’
Hawks earn first rivalry win since ’07

BY ERIC HANLON
The Dominion Post

Stunned. That’s the best way to describe the look on the faces of the fourth-ranked Morgantown High Mohigans after being upset, 48-47, at archrival University, on Friday. “I don’t know what the odds were in Vegas, but I would say we were probably the (under)dogs,” UHS head coach Paul Ingle said with a laugh. “But as a coach, it’s my job to believe and to convince others to believe.”
“This is my first win against Morgantown and I know it’s the first for University in a long time,” UHS senior Drew Fraser said. “It feels great. It’s awesome.”
Fraser’s layup with eight sec- onds remaining was the deciding shot, as University (7-8) beat Morgantown (9-3) for the first time since 2007.
“I was telling my kids in the locker room, and I have to admit I got a little emotional, ‘I’ve been [coaching at UHS] for three years now and to be frank, most of our games with [Morgantown] haven’t been competitive,’” Ingle said. “So, it’s been a long road.
“It’s a big win for all of us. For me to see our student body and our alumni like that, I take more joy out of [that reaction] than anything else.”
The teeter-tottering game featured 10 lead changes, including three in the final minute.
Trailing, 44-43, junior Travis Tomer knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put UHS up with 56 seconds left. MHS answered quickly as junior Nathan Adrian knocked down a trey of his own with 40 seconds to go, putting MHS back on top, 47-46.
After a timeout, Ingle’s setup play to Tomer in the corner nearly backfired as he was immediately smothered by MHS defenders. That’s when Tomer found Fraser.
“We were trying to get Travis a look, but they were double-, or triple-teaming him from the corner,” Fraser said. “I just snuck behind the basket and he did an excellent job of finding me. Turned out to be an excellent play by everyone.”
MHS never had a chance to answer back, as UHS junior Curl Dixon made a steal at midcourt with three seconds left to put the game on ice.
The UHS student section rushed the court at the final buzzer. It was the second such occasion for Hawks’ fans in a little more than a week. Jan. 19, the UHS girls defeated MHS on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, evoking a similar reaction from the crowd.
“Great times for U-High right now,” Fraser said with a grin. “Great times.”
“It’s a big rivalry and our crowd was awesome,” Tomer added. “It was deafening toward the end of the game. I literally couldn’t hear anything.”
Fraser had nine points, while Tomer (12 rebounds) and junior Deion Cunningham each had 12. Dixon had nine points and six steals.
Adrian scored a gamehigh 22 points and added 13 rebounds, but received little help from the MHS perimeter shooters.
“It was shooting percentage for us that cost us. We were 17-of-54 (31.5 percent) from the floor,” MHS head coach Tom Yester said. “My guards couldn’t make a bucket. If you’re 2-of-20 from the guard spot, it’s hard to win. We were our own worst enemies.”
UHS also outrebounded the Mohigans, 32-26.
“Give them credit, they made plays when they had to,” Yester said.
MORGANTOWN (9-3)
Johnson 0 0-0 0, Colasante 2 0-0 5, Marshall 0 1-2 1, Adrian 8 4-4 22, Leftridge 1 2-2 4, Agnew 3 2-3 8, Loudin 3 1-2 7, Allen 0 0-0 0, Fleming 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 10-13 47.
UNIVERSITY (7-8)
Tomer 4 1-4 12, Dixon 2 5-8 Nagy 0 2-2 2, Fraser 4 0-0 9, McLaughlin 1 1-2 3, Cunningham 5 2-2 12, N. Gutmann 0 0-0 0, Warden 0 1-2 1. Totals 16 12-20 48.
Morgantown 11 14 12 10 — 47
University 8 11 14 15 — 48
3-point goals:Morgantown 3 (Adrian 2, Colasante). University 4 (Tomer 3, Fraser).

Jason DeProspero/The Dominion Post
Morgantown’s Nathan Adrian
(33) powers to the basket against UHS’s Travis Tomer.

Jason DeProspero/The Dominion Post
University High fans swarm the players on the court to celebrate their win against Morgantown.