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Notre Dame Rallies; Liberty Survives
SHINNSTON _ Notre Dame used a strong fourth quarter rally to claim a 53-47 victory over South Harrison in the first round of the boys division of the Lincoln-McDonald's Tournament at Lincoln High School.
The Fighting Irish, 3-1, trailed 36-31 heading into the final eight minutes of action when they outscored the Hawks 22-11 for the win.
Jon Howard and LaDon Garrett each played pivotal roles in Notre Dame's come-from-behind win. Howard scored all eight of his points in the fourth quarter with seven of them coming during a 12-3 run in which NDHS took the lead for good at 43-39 with 4:14 remaining in the game.
Garrett was a key player down the stretch for the Irish as he sank 4-of-4 at the free throw line to keep SH at bay.
"I didn't think we played well all night but I am pleased with the way we responded in the fourth period," said ND coach Angelo Basile.
Garrett led three ND cagers in double figures with 15 points. Jeremy Parker followed with 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Josh Riffle added 10.
The Hawks, 0-3, were paced by Adam Davisson with a game-high 25 points.
"We didn't knock down our shots and we made too many turnovers in the fourth quarter," said SHHS coach Robert Shields. "The kids played hard but need to find a way to get a victory for confidence."
In the nightcap, Liberty held on for dear life in the fourth quarter for a 62-59 triumph over homestanding Lincoln.
The Mountaineers, 1-1, led 48-47 going into the fourth period but the Cougars took a one-point lead several times in the final canto but was unable to retain the advantage.
A pair of Guy Curotz field goals gave Liberty a 59-57 advantage with 3:20 left. Jason Pritt quickly tied the game with a layup with 2:54 left on the clock and those would be the Cougars' final points of the contest.
Bryan Harman made the back end of a two-shot opportunity at the foul line to put the Mountaineers in front to stay 60-59 with 2:11 remaining. The Cougars had several chances to take the lead in the final two minutes but were unable to connect on any shots.
Luke Flanagan gave Liberty some breathing room when he made two free throws with 6.5 seconds to play. In the closing seconds, the Cougars final attempt fell short as the Mountaineers took home the victory.
Justin Nutt led the Mountaineers with 16 points which included four 3-pointers. Curotz followed with 14 and Brian Ross added 13.
The Cougars, 0-3 on the season, were paced by Mike Barnes' game-high 20 points. Clark Riley followed with 13 while Danny Hardesty chipped in 10.
South Harrison will play in the consolation tilt at 5:45 p.m. against Lincoln while the Irish will battle Liberty at 9:15 p.m. in the championship game tonight.
Notre Dame (53)
Rieser 2 2-3 6; Garrett 4 7-10 15; Riffle 3 2-4 10; Parker 6 0-0 12; Caputo 0 0-0 0; Howard 3 2-3 8; McIntosh 1 0-0 2; Totals 19 13-20 53.
South Harrison (47)
Davisson 9 5-8 25; Wilson 3 0-0 8; Sears 4 0-2 8; Blair 2 0-2 4; Devericks 1 0-0 2; Totals 19 5-12 47.
Notre
Dame
9
12
10
22_53
South Harrison
7
15
14
11_47
3-Point Goals:
Riffle 2, Davisson 2, Wilson 2.
___Liberty (62)
Bellotte 1 0-0 3; Nutt 5 2-2 16; Amos 2 0-0 4; Flanagan 0 3-4 3; Harman 3 2-5 9; Ross 2 9-10 13; Curotz 7 0-0 14; Totals 20 16-21 62.
Lincoln (59)
Barnes 8 2-3 20; Riley 6 1-4 13; Edwards 1 0-0 3; Hardesty 3 3-6 10; Pravda 2 2-5 6; Pritt 3 1-2 7; Totals 23 9-20 59.
Liberty
19
13
16
14_62
Lincoln
15
12
20
12_59
3-Point Goals:
Bellotte, Nutt 4, Harman, Barnes 2, Edwards, Hardesty.
Updated December 30, 1996
Late Defensive Breakdown Costs
Indians in 48-46 Loss to Trojans
Entering last night's contest with Hampshire High, Bridgeport head coach Gene Randolph was concerned with his team's inconsistency and breakdowns on defense.
With seven seconds left in the fourth quarter and the score knotted at 46, Randolph saw his fears come true as HHS's Jarod Riggleman scored on an inside hoop to give the Trojans a 48-46 win in the first round of the Robert C. Byrd Holiday Tournament.
After BHS's Michael Stumpo connected on one of two free throws to tie the game at 46, Hampshire took possession of the ball following an Indian timeout with 31 seconds remaining in the contest.
Then, after Bridgeport tied up the ball and forced a jump ball with 14 seconds left, Hampshire was forced to run an out of bounds play underneath its own basket with :07 showing on the clock, after the ball went out of bounds off of the Indians.
On the play, Hampshire's Bart Stewart took the inbounds pass at the top of the key and hit an open Riggleman underneath who connected for the game-winning hoop at the buzzer.
"Off of that out of bounds play, we wanted the ball in the corner and to then feed it to the low post," explained HHS head coach Larry See. "Bridgeport did a good job of taking that away and Stewart was real patient holding the ball and got the ball inside and that's exactly what we talked about in our huddle."
Randolph said, "We were in a 1-3-1 and were conscientious of the corners. We were looking for them to dump it down low and so we were wanting to double-team the post but it was just a situation where our down man came out to the wing and that left the backside open."
The contest started slow as neither team was able to find the basket with any consistency as the Trojans held a slim 11-6 lead after the first quarter.
However, the Indians' Stumpo spearheaded a 13-3 run that gave Bridgeport a 19-13 lead with 1:55 left before intermission.
After Matt Shahady's free throw cut Hampshire's lead to 13-12, Stumpo got the Tribe rolling with seven of his game-high 16 points including a three-pointer from deep in the corner.
HHS then cut into the BHS lead after baskets from Timmy Nichols and R.L. Johnson to make the score 21-18 in favor of the Indians at halftime.
The third period went back and forth and saw Bridgeport take a 38-33 advantage into the final canto.
Nichols' hoop inside cut the lead to three early in the fourth, but an Anthony Ziglear free throw and a Stumpo fast-break lay-up put the Indians back up by six at 41-35.
HHS then went on an 11-4 run to set the stage for the game-winning basket by Riggleman.
"We are young and have a lot of work to do," commented Randolph. "Despite of the negative outcome, I see some positives and I think we'll be all right this season."
HHS (2-1) was led by Timmy Nichols' 14 points.
Following Stumpo for Bridgeport was Ziglear with 11.
The Indians will play Robert C. Byrd in tonight's consolation contest at 6 p.m. Hampshire battles Parkersburg South in the title game at 8 p.m.
Hampshire (48)
Stewart 3 2-2 8; Nichols 6 2-8 14; Johnson 2 0-0 5; Digruttolo 2 1-2 6; Haines 3 0-0 6; Riggleman 4 1-2 9; Totals 20 6-14 48.
Bridgeport (46)
Kerr 3 1-2
7; Ziglear 5 1-2 11; Shahady 0 2-4 2; Stumpo 7 1-2 16; Zickefoose 2 1-2 5; Belcastro 1 0-0 2; Northey 1 0-0 2; Hotsinpiller 0 1-2 1; Totals 19 7-14 46.
Hampshire
11
7
15
15_48
Bridgeport
6
15
17
8_46
3-Point Goals:
Johnson, Digruttolo, Stumpo.
Updated December 30, 1996
Free Throws Carry South
By Robert C. Byrd, 74-69
Robert C. Byrd head coach Brad Underwood knows how important free throw shooting is in close basketball games. Friday night, the veteran coach and his team were reminded of that fact and, it's one they won't soon forget.
Parkersburg South made 31-of-34 free throws for the game, including a perfect 10-of-10 in the final period, as the Patriots claimed a 74-69 win over RCB in the first round of the Robert C. Byrd Holiday Tournament.
"They made 14 more free throws than we did and we only lost by five," commented Underwood after his team suffered its first loss of the season. "We had five more field goals than they did.
"We had our chances but just had trouble making the big defensive stop. We have got to be able to make the stop when we have to and we are not at that point yet."
The Eagles trailed most of the first half and were behind 46-39 in the third period when they ended the third canto with a 13-3 run that gave them a 52-49 lead heading into the final eight minutes of play.
RCB stretched the advantage to 61-53 when Donnie Johnson hit three foul shots after getting fouled while shooting a 3-pointer. However, that's when the Patriots began their comeback.
After Will Scott scored for the guests, Donovan Stewart took over. Stewart, who finished with 22 points, scored 14 of his points in the final four minutes of the game as he led his team to its second win of the season.
"We were trying to concentrate on him," Underwood said. "But, he was able to score 22 points ... he was 12-of-12 from the foul line."
The guests jumped out to a 19-10 lead after one but the hosts cut the deficit to 36-30 at the break before they took the third period lead.
While Stewart finished with 22 for the visitors, Tim Wigal added 13 for South.
Johnson led the Eagles with 23 points while Braden Hoffman added 13 and 9 rebounds. Louie Nardelli scored 12 and Marshall Cox came off the bench for 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, six of them offensive.
"Marshall Cox played an excellent game," remarked Underwood. "He may only be 5-11 but he plays big inside ... he has a knack for the ball.
"He plays tough inside and, if he continues to do that, he will get more playing time."
The loss drops the Eagles into tonight's consolation game against Bridgeport at 6 p.m. while Parkersburg South will battle Hampshire in the tournament title game at 8 p.m.
Parkersburg South (74)
Antoline 1 1-2 3; Scott 2 2-2 6; A.Edman 1 2-2 4; Stewart 5 12-12 22; Wigal 4 4-4 13; Collins 1 0-0 2; J.Edman 3 0-0 7; Maynard 1 0-0 3; Enoch 1 2-2 4; Cayton 1 8-10 10; Totals 20 31-34 74.
Robert C. Byrd (69)
Hoffman 6 1-3 13; Calvert 1 0-0 2; K.Cox 4 0-0 8; Nardelli 4 2-2 12; Johnson 8 7-8 23; M.Cox 2 6-9 10; Saas 0 1-2 1; Lee 0 0-0 0; Totals 25 17-24 69.
Parkersburg
South
19
17
13
25_74
Robert C. Byrd
10
20
22
17_69
3-Point Goals:
Wigal, J.Edman, Maynard, Nardelli 2.
Updated December 30, 1996
Bridgeport, DC
Will Meet For
Title on Monday
WEST UNION _ Overcoming a
sluggish second quarter, Bridgeport defeated Tygarts Valley 55-50
Friday night in the first round of
the Kermit Vanscoy Girls Basketball Tournament at Doddridge
County High School.
Leading 22-12 after the first
quarter, BHS allowed the Class A
6th-ranked Bulldogs to take control of the game defensively in the
second quarter. Tygarts Valley was able to cut its deficit to 26-24
at the half.
Bridget Jack scored 13 of her
game-high 22 points in the first
half for the Bulldogs.
The lead see-sawed in the second half before the Indians took
control in the fourth quarter
thanks to Jackie Codling's five
markers in the period.
"We've been in a lot of close
games so far and in the last couple our kids have really responded," said BHS coach Dave
Marshall. "Last year (in this tournament) we didn't respond and
this year we did. I think we are a
better team because of it."
Kristen Queen finished the
night with 14 points for the Indians while Beth Guzzi added 10.
"Defensively, I thought we played pretty well," said TV coach
Buck Cecil. "Offensively we need to cut down on mistakes. We just
made too many mental mistakes against a team of Bridgeport's
caliber."
In the second game, Kristi
Evans scored 13 of her game-high 21 points in the first quarter to
lead Doddridge County to a 66-29 win over Liberty.
Keyed by its defense,
Doddridge led 19-5 after the opening
period. Later, the Bulldogs staged
a 14-4 run in the second canto to
open up a 24-point lead and put
the game out of reach.
"It was good to get a lot of girls
into the game," said DCHS coach
Craig Kellar. "The whole team
played unselfishly. However, the
downside was the way we played
defense. We did step it up in the
second half though."
Doddridge advances to the
championship game on Monday
as it faces Bridgeport at 7:45
p.m.. Liberty battles Tygarts Valley at 6 p.m.
Bridgeport (55)
Queen 6 0-0 14; Guzzi 4 2-2 10; Codling 2 2-4 8; Pasternak 4 0-0 8; Wilson 3 1-1 7; Scott 2 0-2 4; Flesher 2 0-0 4; Totals 23 5-9 55.
Tygarts Valley (50)
Jack 6 9-11 22; L.Defibaugh 3 1-3 7; D. Defibaugh 2 3-5 7; Howard 2 2-4 6; Cottrell 2 0-0 4; Gum 2 0-0 4; Totals 17 15-23 50.
Bridgeport
22
4
16
13_55
Tygarts Valley
12
12
18
8_50
3-Point Goals:
Queen 2, Codling 2, Jack.
___
Liberty (29)
Robinson 4 0-2 8; Bee 2 2-2 6; Kopp 1 2-4 5; Will 2 0-2 4; Fisher 2 0-0 4; Bland 1 0-0 2; Totals 12 4-10 29.
Doddridge Co. (66)
Evans 10 1-2 21; Rollins 4 0-0 11; Smith 4 0-0 8; Trent
2 2-7 6; Swisher 0 4-6 4; Edgell 2
0-0 4; Kelley 1 1-4 3; Hayes 1 1-2 3; Powell 1 0-2 2; McConnell 1 0-0 2; A. Ash 1 0-1 2; Totals 27 9-24 66.
Liberty
5
9
6
9_29
Doddridge
19
11
20
16_66
3-Point Goals:
Kopp, Rollins 3.
Updated December 30, 1996
Most County Prep Basketball Teams
In Holiday Tournaments This Weekend
All six Harrison County boys
prep basketball teams will be in
action this Friday as the teams
compete in holiday tournaments
while five of the six county girls
teams will also be playing in area
tourneys.
Lincoln will host a boys and a
girls tournament on Friday and
Saturday while Robert C. Byrd
will host a boys tournament on
the same days.
Doddridge County hosts the
Second Annual Kermit Vanscoy
Tournament for the girls on Fri
day and Monday.
In the girls division in
Shinnston, Grafton and South
Harrison square off at 4 p.m. fol
lowed by Lincoln and Robert C.
Byrd at 5:45 p.m.
The Bearcats are led by Jody
Bias while the Hawks are led by
Amber Morrison and Melissa
Dawson.
The Cougars are led by the trio
of Chrissy Luchuck, Stacey Lam
bert and Tabitha Hutson while the
Eagles are led by Leah Yertzell
and Kyle Veltri.
The boys division will have
Notre Dame and South Harrison
playing at 7:30 p.m. before the
host Cougars battle Liberty at
9:15 p.m.
The Irish are powered by their
starting five of LaDon Garrett,
Jon Howard, Josh Riffle, Jeremy
Parker and Chris McIntosh. The
Hawks are led by Adam Davis
son.
Lincoln is led by Danny Hardes
ty and Clark Riley while the
Mountaineers are led by Luke
Flanagan, Brian Ross and Bryan
Harman.
The consolation games will be
slated at 4 p.m. for the girls and
5:45 p.m. for the boys on Satur
day.
The girls championship is set
for 7:30 p.m. while the boys
championship will tip off at 9:15
p.m. Saturday.
Admission price is $4 for adults
and $3 for students.
At RCB, the Eagles will host
their first tournament at the new
school as Bridgeport, Hampshire
County and Parkersburg South
round out the field.
The Indians battle Hampshire
at 6 p.m. while RCB plays Par
kersburg South at 8 p.m.
BHS is led by Brian Zickefoose,
Anthony Ziglear and Chris Kerr.
The Eagles are paced by Donnie
Johnson and Braden Hoffman.
The consolation game is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the
championship game is set for 8
p.m. on Saturday.
In West Union, Liberty and
Bridgeport travel to play in the
Kermit Vanscoy Tournament
with Tygarts Valley and the host
Bulldogs.
"The tournament is named after
Kermit Vanscoy who put in year
after year of dedication to Doddridge County girls basketball,"
said DCHS coach Craig Kellar.
"He coached the girls team two
years before I took over and he
was my assistant for about a dozen years."
Tygarts Valley will play the Indians at 6 p.m. and the Mountaineers will battle the Bulldogs at
7:45 p.m. on Friday.
BHS is led by Peggy Scott, Kristen Queen, Katy Wilson, Beth Guzzi and Jackie Codling while
LHS is led by Jamie Robinson and
Julie Bee.
Updated December 27, 1996
Bridgeport victory over Grafton
GRAFTON _ Brian Zickefoose
sank a free throw with no time remaining to lift Bridgeport to an
exciting 67-66 boys basketball victory over Grafton in a Big 10 Conference clash Thursday night at
the GHS gymnasium.
Zickefoose's free throw brought
to an end a furious comeback by
the Bearcats in the final quarter.
Grafton's Mike Bobela made
two free throws with 2.7 seconds
left to tie the contest at 66-apiece.
This set the stage for Zickefoose,
who was fouled in the backcourt
as time expired.
The senior guard, after missing
the first free throw opportunity,
calmly sank the second charity
toss to send the Indian faithful
home with the win.
"(Brian) Zickefoose is a senior
and a proven leader for us,"
stated Bridgeport assistant coach
Doug Hogue who was filling in forhead coach Gene Randolph. "It is
just a tremendous win coming in
here (Grafton) and to open the
season with two road wins."
However, the Tribe (2-0) let a
big lead evaporate in the second
half. Bridgeport led 30-23 at the
half and extended the margin to
its biggest of the game, a 16-point,
44-28, advantage with 3:34 left in
the third period.
But, the Indians just couldn't
deliver the knock out blow and the
Bearcats, now 0-1, stayed within
striking distance before making
their move in the final period.
"They took the ball inside to
Henderson, pounded the boards
and were able to get back into the
ball game," stated Hogue. "We
missed some big free throws at
the end and the other night
against Notre Dame, we made
them.
"The bottom line is if you fight
for coach Randolph and myself,
then we will fight for you. This
group of young men stepped for
ward under a lot of adversity and
they showed me that they are
going to be a winner."
Eli Henderson's 3-pointer closed
out the third period to leave GHS
down 48-37 and Henderson along
with Bobela led the Bearcats'
charge in the final eight minutes.
Bobela had all of his 10 points
and Henderson added eight in the
fourth period as the Bearcats out
scored Bridgeport 29-19.
Bridgeport received some excellent inside play from Chris
Kerr and Anthony Ziglear. Kerr
finished as the game's leading
scorer with 23 points and grabbed
nine rebounds. Ziglear chipped in
14 points, pulled down nine rebounds and blocked five shots.
Michael Stumpo finished out the
double-figure scorers for Bridgeport with 14 points.
Henderson paced the Bearcats with 22 points followed by Jay
Garrett with 18.
Bridgeport (67)
Kerr 9 5-8 23; Ziglear 7 0-1 14; Shahady 2 0-0 4; Stumpo 4 5-6 14; Zickefoose 2 4-8 8;
Belcastro 0 2-2 2; Kuntz 0 2-2 2; Northey 0 0-0 0; Cann 0 0-0 0; Anglin 0 0-0 0; Totals 24 18-27 67.
Grafton (66)
Kellaway 0 0-0 0; Westfall 0 1-2 1; Hunsaker 2 0-0 5; Bobela 3 4-4 10; Garrett 6 5-6
18; Jones 2 0-0 5; Newbraugh 0 1-2 1; E. Henderson 7 6-8 22; Marshall 2 0-0 4; Totals 22 17-22 66.
Bridgeport
13
17
18
19_67
Grafton
13
10
14
29_66
3-Point Goals:
_ Stumpo, Hunsaker, Garrett, Jones, E. Henderson 2.
Updated December 23, 1996
Bridgeport, Miller Claim
Leonette Tourney Titles
BRIDGEPORT _ Paul Graeber scored 16 points and pulled
down 10 rebounds as Bridgeport
Middle School downed Miller Junior High, 48-39, to claim the inaugural Joe Leonette Memorial
Tournament boys championship
last night.
Graeber, who was named the
tournament MVP, and Jason
Young helped ignite the Braves in
the first period as they jumped
out to a 15-7 lead after one quarter. Young scored seven of his
game-high 17 points in the first
canto.
Down 11 points in second half,
the Patriots came out firing as
Rodney King hit two 3-pointers
and cut the lead to seven with one
period left.
Miller's A.J. Sturm and Matt
Vangilder each hit a 3-pointer at
the start of the fourth and Miller
found itself down only one point
with 4:32 left to play. But that was
as close as it could get, as the
Braves made 6-of-6 free throws to
ice the game.
Roddrus Clay led the Patriots
with 10 points. He also grabbed
eight rebounds and had four
steals.
In the girls championship, Miller overcame a four-point deficit
at the half and outscored Buckhannon-Upshur 22-7 in the second
half to cruise to a 32-21 victory.
Amanda Roderick scored 11
points and Caitlin Lennon added
10 to help the Patriots claim the
girls title. Christin Black added
eight points and eight rebounds
for Miller.
Erika Dotson led the Lady Bucs
with seven points and nine rebounds in the losing effort.
In the girls consolation game, Erica Rome scored 17 points to
lead Bridgeport to a 40-29 win
over Taylor County Middle School.
The Braves led 23-18 at intermission and put the game away with a strong fourth quarter.
TCMS was led by Sheena Zbosnick with 15.
In the boys consolation matchup, Buckhannon-Upshur's Andrew McDaniels fired in 22 points
to lead his squad to a 48-38 win.
Jason Rosier led Taylor with 10 points.
Girls Consolation
Taylor County (29)
Zbosnick 6 3-5 15; Payne 1 4-8 6; Zuspan 0 4-8 4; McDaniel 0 2-2 2; Ferren 1 0-0 2;
Maier 0 0-2 0; Totals 8 13-25 29.
Bridgeport (40)
E.Rome 7 3-4 17; Hanschumacher 3 0-0 6; Green 2 1-4 5; Ross 2 2-2 6; Stanley 1 0-0 2;
Kerr 0 2-4 2; Melko 0 2-2 2; Totals 15 10-16 40.
Taylor County
5
13
3
8_29
Bridgeport
14
9
4
13_40
3-Point Goals:
None.
___Boys Consolation
Taylor County (38)
Rosier 5 0-0 10; Mewshew 3 0-0 6; Markley
3 2-5 8; O'Brien 1 0-0 2; Sencindiver 2 0-0 4;
Minges 2 0-0 4; Morris 2 0-0 4; Totals 18 2-5
38.
Buckhannon-Upshur (48)
Squires 2 3-4 7; McDaniels 8 6-10 22; Griffith 4 0-0 8; Cable 3 1-2 8; Poling 0 3-4 3; Totals 17 13-20 48.
Taylor County
13
9
6
10_38
Buckhannon-Upshur
11
14
8
15_48
3-Point Goals:
Cable.
___Girls Championship
Miller Junior High (32)
Roderick 3 5-6 11; Lennon 5 0-0 10; Black 3 2-2 8; Thompson 1 1-2 3; Totals 12 8-10 32.
Buckhannon-Upshur (21)
Dotson 3 1-2 7; Trainer 2 2-2 6; Phillips 1 0-0 2; Strawn 3 0-0 6; Totals 9 3-4 21.
Miller
4
6
9
13_32
Buckhannon-Upshur
6
8
5
2_21
3-Point Goals:
None.
___Boys Championship
Miller Junior High (39)
>Garrison 2 3-6 7; Clay 3 4-8 10; Pethel 2 0-0
4; Burnside 1 0-0 2; Conaway 1 0-0 2; King 3
0-0 8; Sturm 1 0-0 3; Vangilder 1 0-0 2; Totals 14 7-14 39.
Bridgeport (48)
>Graeber 6 4-7 16; Veltri 2 0-0 4; Young 8 1-3 17; Horne 2 2-2 6; Liebig 1 3-4 5; Totals 19 10-16 48.Miller
7
11
13
8_39
Bridgeport
15
14
9
10_48
3-Point Goals:
King 2, Sturm, Vangilder .
Updated December 23, 1996
5 County Teams in Action Tonight
Five of the six Harrison County boys basketball teams are in action tonight with four of the teams taking the floor for the second time. The other, Liberty, will be in action for the first time this season as it travels to Clay-Battelle.
In the other games involving county teams: Bridgeport travels to Grafton; Lincoln hosts East Fairmont; Robert C. Byrd is at Morgantown; and South Harrison entertains Philip Barbour.
Notre Dame is in action on Friday at Cameron.
The Mountaineers will have their hands full with a Cee-Bee team that started off the year with a 59-48 win over South Harrison on Tuesday.
However, LHS coach Russ Nutt believes his club will be ready for C-BHS and the upcoming season.
"We'll find out if we're ready ... we think we're ready," stated Nutt. "It will be a good test playing on the road. They are a well-coached team, they do a good job.
"They've had some success and they know how to play the game."
Clay-Battelle, which went to the Class A state tournament a year ago, is led by Nick Munson, Sean Skubis and Drew Shaver.
"They have good size so we won't have a size advantage," Nutt stated. "It's pretty even.
"They understand each other and know what each other will do. They are an excellent free throw shooting team and they do a good job on the boards and shooting the 3 _ they are an extremely good team."
The 'Eers return three starters from last year's team as senior Bryan Harman leads the charge. He will be joined by junior returners Luke Flanagan and Brian Ross.
Notre Dame transfer Guy Curotz will get the nod at center and Ty Amos rounds out the starting lineup.
Anthony Bellotte, Mark Salfia, Chad Amodio and Toby Knight will also see action for the Mountaineers.
Bridgeport will try to go 2-0 but it won't be easy at the Indians travel to Grafton for a Big 10 contest. BHS is led by Brian Zickefoose, Chris Kerr and Anthony Ziglear while the Bearcats are led by Eli Henderson.
Lincoln will try to avoid an 0-2 start as it hosts East Fairmont. The Cougars suffered a 61-55 setback to Philip Barbour on Tuesday as they struggled from the foul line, hitting just 9-of-24 free throws.
Lincoln is led by Danny Hardesty and Michael Barnes.
RCB travels to Morgantown and will be looking for its second win of the year. The Eagles defeated Preston on Tuesday behind the play of senior Donnie Johnson. Johnson scored 25 points, 18 coming from 3-point land.
The Hawks will try to garner their first win of the young season as they host Philip Barbour (1-0). SHHS is led by Adam Davisson, who scored 21 in the loss to C-B on Tuesday.
Other area games are: Buckhannon-Upshur at Lewis County; University at Elkins; John Marshall at North Marion; Paden City at Doddridge County; Braxton County at Calhoun County; Circleville at Franklin; Fayetteville at Clay County; Gilmer County at Webster County; Williamstown at Magnolia; Ritchie County at Ravenswood; and Tucker County at Hampshire County.
All games have a 7:30 p.m. starting time.
Updated December 20, 1996
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