MHS 68, BROOKE 58
Nathan Adrian shines in Mohigans’ home opener
29 points, 16 boards for MHS standout
BY KRISTIN KURELIC
The Dominion Post

Playing in the Morgantown High Rowdy Center for the first time in his senior year and the first time since signing to play basketball for WVU, Nathan Adrian didn’t disappoint.
The 6-foot-9 senior forward poured in 29 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, as the Mohigans took care of business against Brooke, 68-58.
“I was excited for it. I got to play in front of all my friends and family, so it was a lot of fun,” Adrian said. “I feel a relief; I’m not really too worried about [my signing] anymore. Now I can just play basketball.”
Adrian nailed two 3s and netted 14 of his points in the first quarter. Point guard Nick Colasante added seven, as MHS leapt out to a 6-0 lead that quickly stretched to 21-5.
“It was funny, I told Nathan yesterday, ‘25 [points]-15 [rebounds]. About time for 25-15. Let’s kick it in gear.’ 29-16,” MHS head coach Tom Yester said. “He was obviously the difference in the game.”
The Mohigans cruised from there, taking a 38-22 lead into halftime. The third quarter, too, saw little threat from the Bruins. But at the beginning of the fourth with a 55-38 lead, MHS hit a lull — and the Bruins started hitting treys.
“We expected that,” Adrian said. “They played good against [Parkersburg South] so we were expecting them to make a little bit of a run.”
Adrian made his third 3 just seconds into the quarter, but Brooke (2-1) went on an 11-0 run to cut the MHS lead to 58-49. Suddenly, the press the Mohigans had been handling so simply started giving them fits and the Bruins drained some more 3s, bringing their total to nine.
“We took control and then we maintained it, but it’s been typical, we’ve let people slide back in,” Yester said.
The Mohigans also squandered a 16-point lead against Pittsburgh Central Catholic on Saturday before Adrian’s basket with eight seconds remaining gave them a 62-20 victory.
“Sometimes we just lose our focus and we need to work on that a little bit and stay focused the entire game,” Adrian said. “But it will help us a lot in the long run, because obviously teams are going to be able to play us a lot closer than that so we will be able to finish a lot better.”
Ultimately, the Mohigans (3-0) finished off the Bruins comfortably —their smallest advantage was nine points — and remained undefeated. Just as quickly as its run started, Brooke ran out of time and was forced to foul.
Austin Agnew (11 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals) and Dean Marshall (10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals) combined for eight points to put the game on ice, before Adrian hit his last two free throws, going 6-for-6 from the foul line.
His final home-court debut also included four blocks, three assists and one steal and only one turnover.
“I’m just trying to enjoy the year as it goes,” he said. “Not think ahead too much because this is my last year with my friends, so I’m just trying to enjoy it.”
MHS travels to take on Washington at 7:30 Friday and Martinsburg at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, both at the Martinsburg Tournament.
BROOKE (2-1)
Gambellin 3 1-1 8, Wallace 1 3-6 6, E. Johnson 5 6-6 19, Stillson 4 2-4 12, Schambach 1 0-0 3, Elliot 2 1-1 5, Cole 1 0-0 2, Pizzuti 1 0-0 3. Totals 18 13-18 58.
MORGANTOWN (3-0)
Adrian 10 6-6 29, Colasante 1 4-4 7, Marshall 3 4-6 10, Agnew 4 3-6 11, M. Johnson 2 1-2 5, Eby 1 0-1 2, Morgano 0 0-0 0, Selby 0 0-0 0, Cardin 2 0-0 4, Core 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 18-25 68.
BHS 12 10 16 20 — 58
MHS 22 16 17 13 — 68
3-point goals: BHS 9 (E. Johnson 3, Stillson 2, Gambellin, Wallace, Schambach, Pizzuti), MHS 4 (Adrian 3, Colasante).

Bob Gay/The Dominion Post
Morgantown High’s Nicolas Colasante (right) drives to the basket around Brooke’s Austin Shambach during Wednesday’s game.