WV HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
From our Newspapers
Return
Philip Barbour Pounds South Harrison, 65-53
LOST CREEK _ Philip Barbour's Donald Thompson netted a
game-high 20 points as the Colts
downed South Harrison 65-53 in
boys Big 10 cage action.
After trailing 2-0, PBHS was
able to pound the ball underneath
against a smaller Hawk team to
jump out to an early 19-11 lead after one quarter of play.
In the opening minutes of the second quarter, the Colts' Aaron
Dickerson came off of the bench
to score five unanswered points
for Philip Barbour to give the visitors a 24-11 lead and force the
Hawks to play catch-up all night.
However, South Harrison was
able to close to within eight when
Justin Lawrence's free throws
brought the score to 26-18 midway
through the second quarter.
It was then that Thompson went
to work on the undersized Hawks
as the junior accounted for seven
of the last nine Colt points in the
first half which allowed PBHS to
take a 33-22 lead into the locker
room at halftime.
"One of the things that we
stressed going into tonight was
taking the ball underneath and
hitting the boards hard," said
PBHS head coach Danny Wagner.
"I think that we were able to do
that and that was a big reason for
our success."
The Colts' lead grew to 16 in the
third when once again Thompson
was able to score from inside and
give PBHS a 40-24 lead.
South Harrison crept back into
the game when Adam Davisson
drilled a 3-pointer from the left
wing late in the third to bring the
score to 42-28.
Josh Yeager then put the visitors in a comfortable position
when he canned a 25-footer at the buzzer as the Colts took a 51-34
lead into the final frame of play.
"We are very young and when
we get down we seem to panic a little bit," commented SHHS head
coach Robert Shields. "We've been getting killed on the boards this
year and if you take away a lot of those second chance shots it be
comes a different ball game."
Philip Barbour's Adam McDaniel scored in the paint in the opening minutes of the fourth
quarter to give the Colts a 20-point lead at 57-37 as PBHS coast
ed the rest of the game for the win.
Yeager followed Thompson in
scoring for the Colts with 14.
Davisson led the Hawks with 19
while Lawrence scored 10.
"We've got a young group and
it's early season and the kids are
going to work hard and we as coaches are determined to work
hard," said Shields.
Philip Barbour
SHHS (0-2, 0-1) is back in action
again on Dec. 27 against Notre
Dame, while PBHS (2-0, 2-0) returns to action on Monday when it
travels to Robert C. Byrd in a Big
10 contest.
Philip Barbour (65)
Cole 3 1-1 8; Barkley 2 4-4 8; Yeager 5 3-3 14; Thompson 8 4-8 20; Mayle 2 0-0 4; Dickerson 2 1-1 5; McDaniel 2 0-2 4; Fruman 1 0-0 2; Totals 25 13-19 65.
South Harrison (65)
Davisson 7 1-4 19; Lawrence 3 3-4 10; Wilson 1 0-0 2; Sears 3 2-2 8; Jenkins 1 1-1 3;
Blair 2 1-4 5; Riley 0 2-4 2; Devericks 1 2-2
4; Totals 19 12-21 53.
Philip Barbour
19
14
18
14_65
South Harrison
11
11
12
19_53
3-Point Goals:
Cole, Yeager, Davisson 2,
Lawrence.
Updated December 23, 1996
East Fairmont's 60-43 victory over Lincoln
SHINNSTON _ In basketball,
there is no substitute for size.
Never was this put to the test better than in East Fairmont's 60-43
victory over Lincoln Thursday
night.
The Bees (2-0) used a 37-19 rebounding edge and a dominating
inside game to overpower the
Cougars (0-2). Leading the way
for EF was Eli Gurash, who connected for 17 points, most of them
coming off of rebounds following
missed Bee shots.
When not getting the ball to Gurash, the Bees used the quick, penetrating moves of guard Bill
Morton, who scorched the nets for
14, and the inside power moves of
forward Jay Vincent, who
chipped in with 15.
"We had a definite advantage
inside and used it any time we
could," Bee coach Gary Hawkins
said. "This is a big win indeed for
us. To start the season 2-0 and get
a win over a tough team like Lincoln on the road is very important.
"Billy is a pretty good ball player. If we can get him to keep
making the proper decisions, we
will be in good shape. He and Eli had big ballgames for us tonight."
EF began its dominance right from the start. Getting the ball to
Vincent on several occasions, the
Bees made sure that they would
have total dominance in the paint
for the entire evening. Vincent
netted eight points in the quarter
to help the Bees take a 15-7 lead
after eight minutes.
In the second quarter, the Bees
increased their lead thanks to
their use of a full-court press defense that forced the Cougars into
multiple turnovers and fast-break
points for East Side. The press enabled the Bees to go on a 15-5 run
over the first five minutes of the
quarter that built their lead to 30-14 and threatened to turn the
game into a blowout.
"We panicked when they put the
press on us. We are a small team
that is not very physical, and that
hurt us tonight," commented Lincoln coach Dennis Hutson.
The second half was played at a much slower pace than the first,
and neither team seemed to find
much rhythm in their offense.
Early in the third, the Cougars
made their best run at EF. Following consecutive Bee turnovers, Lincoln's Danny Hardesty and Brian Edwards connected on
two straight shots to pull the Cougars to within nine at 34-25, but
that was as close as they could
get on this night.
With the Bees continually
pounding the ball down to Gurash,
the Bees completed their dominance in building the lead back up
to 12 after the quarter and finally
winning by 17.
Updated December 23, 1996
Strong Third Quarter
Propels Clay-Battelle
Past So. Harrison, 59-48
LOST CREEK _ Clay-Battelle used a strong third quarter to take a 59-48 victory over South Harrison in the opening boys high school basketball contest for both schools Tuesday night at the SHHS gymnasium.
The Cee-Bees led 22-21 at the half and used a 19-13 third period to take control of the game. They did it by getting out in transition and also hitting the boards.
"We spend so much time working on our transition game and we are definitely a transition basketball team," said Clay-Battelle coach Frank Skubis. "We did a really good job on the boards."
C-BHS outrebounded the Hawks 31-23 in the affair with Brent Kiger pulling down a game-high 10 caroms.
Drew Shaver had the hot-hand for the Cee-Bees in the decisive third period with three 3-pointers for nine points, while Kiger added six points, all on offensive stick backs.
The Cee-Bees put the game out of reach in the early moments of the fourth canto with a 10-2 run to take the biggest lead of the contest, a 15-point, 51-36, advantage with 5:45 left on the clock.
Brady Arnett led the spurt with five points, including a 3-pointer.
The Hawks got no closer than nine points the remainder of the game.
Nick Munson led the Cee-Bees in scoring with 17 points. Sean Skubis followed with 12, while Shaver chipped in 11.
Adam Davisson led all scorers in the contest for the Hawks with 21 points, which included four 3-pointers. He also dished off for six assists. Jason Wilson also added 10 for SH.
SHHS coach Robert Shields was pleased with the way his young ball club played against a good Clay-Battelle team.
"We have a lot of kids that are inexperienced and I can't fault their effort," said Shields. "It's an opportunity for them to get into the game and they played hard while they were in there.
"We had a couple of mental lapses and a break here or there could have changed the game. But, these kids have a good work ethic and they are playing hard."
Clay-Battelle (59)
McCabe 3 2-3 8; Kiger 3 0-2 6; Shaver 3 2-2 11; Skubis 3 6-8 12; Munson 6 5-5 17; Arnett 2 0-0 5; Totals 20 15-20 59.
South Harrison (48)
Davisson 8 1-3 21; Wilson 4 0-0 10; Sears 1 0-0 2; Blair 2 0-0 4; Lawrence 0 0-0 0; Jenkins 1 0-0 2; Devericks 4 0-0 9; Southern 0 0-0 0; Riley 0 0-0 0; Totals 20 1-3 48.
Clay-Battelle
10
12
19
18_59
South Harrison
12
9
13
14_48
3-Point Goals:
_ Shaver 3, Arnett, Davisson 4, Wilson 2, Devericks.
Updated December 19, 1996
Bridgeport Boys Advance To
Leonette Tourney Title Game
BRIDGEPORT _ Bridgeport Middle School used tenacious defense to upend Buckhannon-Upshur, 54-28, in first-round boys action of the Joe Leonette Memorial Basketball Tournament on Tuesday.
BMS jumped out to a 12-3 lead fueled by Chris Liebig's six points in the first period.
Each time B-U tried to cut into the lead, the Braves used their offensive firepower to snub any run.
Paul Graeber led the Braves with 14 points, followed by Jason Young with 10. Aaron Horne added six points and six rebounds.
Chad Winters and Jonathan Paine each had six points for Buckhannon-Upshur.
In the first boys game of the day, Matt Vanguilder hit two quick 3-pointers and the Miller Patriots never looked back as they rolled to a 68-12 victory over Taylor County. Vanguilder made five-of-six 3-pointers in the contest. Roddrus Clay chipped in 13 and Jason Garrison added 11.
Dan Mewshaw led the Knights as he scored five points.
Buckhannon-Upshur (28)
McGhee 2 1-3 5; Winters 1 4-6 6; McDaniels 2 0-0 4; Squires 1 0-0 2; Dean 2 0-0 4; Paine 2 1-4 6; Silbaugh 0 1-3 1; Totals 10 7-16 28.
Bridgeport (54)
Liebig 4 0-0 8; Horne 3 1-2 7; Graeber 6 2-3 14; Young 4 2-2 10; Lindsey 1 0-0 2; Berry 1 0-0 2; Dodd 1 0-0 2; Honce 1 0-0 2; Dieringer 1 0-0 2; Rohrbough 2 0-1 2; Compton 0 1-2 1; Totals 24 6-10 54.
Buckhannon-Upshur
3
10
10
5_28
Bridgeport
12
13
16
13_54
3-Point Goals:
Paine.
___
Miller (68)
Clay 6 1-3 13; Vanguilder 5 0-0 15; Garrison 5 1-2 11; Barber 1 0-2 2; Burnside 2 0-0 5; Pethel 1 1-2 3; Sturm 2 1-2 5; Conaway 1 0-0 2; Blankenship 2 0-2 4; Urse 2 0-0 4; King 2 0-0 4; Totals 29 4-13 68.
Taylor County (12)
Mewshaw 2 1-2 5; Secindiver 1 0-0 2; Rosier 0 1-2 1; Markley 0 2-2 2; O'Brien 0 2-2 2; Totals 3 6-8 12.
Miller
24
13
19
12_68
Taylor
County
8
0
0
4_12
3-Point Goals:
Vanguilder 5, Burnside.
Updated December 19, 1996
Shooting Woes
Cost Cougars
PHILIPPI _ Free-throw shooting was the difference as Philip Barbour defeated Lincoln 61-55 in Big 10 Conference boys basketball action Tuesday night.
The Colts (1-0) made 16 of 21 attempts while the Cougars (0-1) were just 9 of 24.
"We were very, very disappointed with our shooting performance from the foul line and the field," said LHS coach Dennis Hutson. "And 16 turnovers didn't help."
The Cougars were up 42-40 early in the fourth period but Philip Barbour scored the next six points to gain control.
"We felt it was a game we should have won," said Hutson. "But, we didn't get the job done."
Donald Thompson led the Colts with 12 points while Jona Barkley added 11. Josh Yeager chipped in 10.
The Cougars were led by Danny Hardesty's 20 points while Michael Barnes added 16.
Updated December 19, 1996
RCBHS Makes
Free Throws,
Beats Preston
One night after the Robert C. Byrd girls basketball team lost its game at the free-throw line, the boys team won its game there, as the Eagles sank seven of them in the last minute to hold on and defeat Preston County, 63-53.
Donnie Johnson led the Eagles (1-0) with 25 points, 15 of them coming from beyond the 3-point line, to help RCB gain a crucial opening game victory.
"We have such a young team this season, for us to get a win over a quality team is very big for us," RCB head coach Brad Underwood said. "As for Donnie Johnson, if he gets a good look at the basket, he is one of the best shooters around. He got a good start, and we were able to get him the ball in situations that we could score."
Early on, it seemed as though the Eagles were going to blow the Knights (0-1) out of Clarksburg. With Johnson nailing three 3-pointers, RCB staked themselves to an early 20-8 lead.
Unwilling to quit, Preston came back to cut the Eagles' lead to one at 29-28 after the first half. The Knights rode the back of their intimidating inside game that overpowered the undersized Eagles. Tim Argabrite and Ryan Metheny paced the Knights, who outscored RCB 20-9 in the quarter.
Preston came out firing in the third quarter with guard Pat Zinn connecting on two 3-pointers in helping the Knights take their first lead of the game at 34-31 just one minute into the quarter. Both teams battled the rest of the quarter with a late 6-0 run allowing RCB to take a 47-40 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
It was in the fourth quarter that the Eagles finally got back to the form that led them to a 21-2 record and a berth in the state championship game last year. With Preston implementing a full-court press on every possession, the Eagles' tandem of Johnson and point guard Louie Nardelli continually broke through to earn RCB fast break opportunities. After having their press broken, the Knights were forced to foul, setting up RCB's clutch free-throw shooting which sealed the game.
"Nine out of the last 10 years, we have had winning seasons," stated Underwood. "We have established a winning attitude here and the kids feel that if it is close in the last few minutes, they have as good a chance as any to win the game.
"We just need to cut our mistakes down and do a few more things to help ourselves, and we will be in good shape."
Preston (53)
Polce 3 2-4 8; Argabrite 5 2-8 12; Metheny 2 1-2 5; Zinn 5 0-0 15; Reese 2 0-0 6; Haskiell 1 0-0 3; Myers 2 0-0 4; Totals 20 5-14 53.
Robert C. Byrd (63)
Johnson 8 4-10 25; Hoffman 3 0-3 6; Nardelli 4 0-0 10; Calvert 2 2-4 6; K. Cox 4 2-3 10; Lawrence 0 2-2 2; M. Cox 2 0-2 4; Totals 23 10-24 63.
Preston
8
20
12
13_53
Robert C.
Byrd
20
9
18
16_63
3-Point Goals:
Zinn (5), Reese (2), Haskiell, Johnson (5), Nardelli (2).
Updated December 19, 1996
RCB Must Reload to Repeat Success
Last season, nearly everything came together for Robert C. Byrd and head coach Brad Underwood in their inaugural year of basketball in the state.
Led by the dominating play of center Scott Molina and the court leadership of point guard T.R. Stutler, the Eagles shocked many in the state as they came to within two points of capturing the Class AAA state title in Charleston.
Now, Underwood has the unenviable task of putting RCB back together after the departure of three starters and five seniors that accounted for nearly three-quarters of the Eagles' offense.
"There is no doubt that the loss of Scott (Molina) is huge but losing T.R. (Stutler) hurts also," stated Underwood. "I feel the point guard position is very critical to the team and this is probably the first time in eight years that I haven't had a returning starter at either the point or center position, so that is putting us a little behind offensively right now."
However, RCB does return the deadly shooting of Donnie Johnson (6-1, Sr., G) and the steady play of Braden Hoffman (6-2, Sr., F) from last year's squad to give the Eagles a nucleus to build around.
"Donnie (Johnson) and Braden (Hoffman) are our co-captains this year and they will definitely have to step up and be our leaders for us to win," said Underwood. "Last year, Braden could go out and score 10 or 12 points a night and go unnoticed, but I think this year he's going to have to work a little harder for his points and, for Donnie to be as effective this year, I think we are going to have to get scorers in the post to prevent defenses from playing out on him."
The job of getting the points underneath will probably go to juniors Kris Cox (6-3, F-C), Marshall Cox (6-0, F) and Jon Calvert (6-3, F) who, according to Underwood, have all been pleasant surprises with their play thus far. Thomas Lee (6-1, Jr., F) and Chad Saas (6-0, Sr., F) will provide needed depth in the front court for the Eagles as well.
The vacant job at center could go to 6-5 senior Ryan Tustin, who played junior varsity last season but has also progressed according to Underwood.
Moving into the point guard position will be junior Louie Nardelli (6-2, Sr.), who saw some quality time last year for RCB, and looks to be backed up by Troy Lawrence (5-10, Jr.).
The rest of the backcourt will consist of senior Sam Daugherty (5-11), junior Murphy Kane (6-0) and sophomore Johnny Shields (5-10).
The one thing that remains a constant with Underwood-coached teams is a strong defense and this year figures to be no different for RCB as the Eagles look to come out in their customary man-to-man defense.
"I've been encouraged by our play defensively so far in our scrimmage and practices so I think we will still be pretty solid there," commented Underwood. "I think that defense will be an area we definitely need to be strong in early on until we get balanced offensively."
RCB opens its season on Tuesday, Dec. 17 when it hosts Preston in a Big 10 contest.
December
17 _ Preston; 19 _ at Morgantown; 23 _Philip Barbour; 27-28 _ RCB Holiday Tournament.
January
2 _ at Elkins; 7 _ at Bridgeport; 9 _Liberty; 16 _ South Harrison;
21 _ at Philip Barbour; 23 _ at Grafton; 28 _ at South Harrison; 30 _ at East Fairmont.
February
4 _ Lincoln; 6 _ at Liberty; 11 _ at University; 13 _ Bridgeport; 18 _ at Preston; 22 _ Elkins; 25 _ at Lincoln; 27 _ Grafton.
Updated December 10, 1996
Irish Optimism Rooted in Experience
There is optimism in the air for the Notre Dame boys high school basketball program this season as the Irish have a deep and talented team.
The Fighting Irish gained experience with a young group of players during last year's 11-9 campaign.
"The experience this group of players gained last season will be very valuable," said Notre Dame coach Angelo Basile. "The experience and the way they play together as a team are big pluses and the strengths of this team."
NDHS started five underclassmen and have four of them returning for this year as LaDon Garrett, John Paul Rieser, Jeremy Parker and Sam Caputo are back to lead the '96-97 team.
Garrett (6-3, Jr., F) led the team in scoring with around 15 points per contest. That play gained him an All-Harrison County first-team selection.
"LaDon returns as our best offensive player and he has a lot of natural ability on the offensive end of the floor," stated Basile.
Rieser (5-10, Jr.) returns at the point guard slot. He averaged in double figures last year with just over 10 points per game while also leading the team in assists. He has great quickness.
Parker (6-4, Sr.) is a returning starter at forward. He may have to play at the center spot at times this season.
Caputo (6-0, Jr.) returns at the shooting guard slot. He has excellent range on his jumper.
Team defense is a concern Basile has addressed in practice.
"We must work harder on team defense and get a lot stronger on the boards," remarked Basile. "Those are two areas that you need to have in order to be successful.
"We have averaged 14 wins a season while I have been here and it is going to be tough to get that unless you play defense," related Basile who's entering his 25th season at the helm of the Irish. "It is going to be difficult with the tough schedule we have this year but, all we want to do is win as many games as possible and be ready at tournament time."
Basile has a talented bench which should help the Irish win close games.
Chris McIntosh (6-5, So., F-C) is a new player in camp who will give the Irish some added strength up front.
Josh Riffle, John Howard and David Blake are players who came off the bench to give valuable contributions a year ago.
Riffle (5-10, Jr., G) is an excellent shooter, good defensive player and makes things happen when he comes on the floor.
Howard (6-0, Sr., G-F) is another player who picks up the level of play with his intensity.
Blake (6-2, Jr., G) gives the Irish added depth in the backcourt.
Rounding out the rest of the Notre Dame varsity roster are Chris Prescott, Josh Owens, Mike Ferro, Ron Gaskins and Don Sanford.
December
17 _ Bridgeport; 20 _ at Cameron; 21 _Emmanuel Christian; 27-28 _ at Lincoln Holiday Tournament.
January
8 _ Valley Wetzel; 10 _ South Harrison; 13 _ at Grafton; 15 _ at Valley Wetzel; 22 _ at Hundred; 24 _ Charleston Catholic; 29 _ Tygart Valley.
February
4 _ Cameron; 8 _ at Charleston Catholic; 10 _ Grafton; 14 _ Clay-Battelle; 18 _at Emmanuel Christian; 21 _ at Clay-Battelle; 25 _ at Tygarts Valley; 28 _ Hundred.
Updated December 10, 1996
Home Page Our Newspapers and Services Web Page Publishing and Design
Local News
and Feature Stories Weekendz West Virginia Sports Summary
Let Us know what you think of our web site! Give us Feedback
E-mail:Webmaster@cpubco.com
Clarksburg Publishing Company, P.O. Box 2000, Clarksburg, WV 26301 USA
Copyright © Clarksburg Publishing Company 1996
Created in Netscape