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Pritt's Tip-in Lifts Lincoln
To 71-68 Upset of N. Marion
By CHARLES CASEY
SHINNSTON _ Jason Pritt's tip-in with 3.3 seconds remaining lifted Lincoln to a 71-68 victory over previously unbeaten North Marion in a non-conference boys high school basketball contest Saturday night at the LHS gymnasium.
Pritt's big hoop for the Cougars thwarted a strong fourth quarter comeback by the Huskies.
North Marion trailed by as many as 16 points in the third quarter before rallying behind the play of Chris Freeman. Freeman scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth period and his three-point play tied the game at 68-apiece with 11.5 seconds remaining.
This was plenty of time for Lincoln and after a timeout, Mike Barnes drove the length of the floor and put up a 15-footer. Pritt crashed the boards and was johnny-on-the-spot when the ball came off the rim for the follow-up basket to put the Cougars in front to stay 70-68.
"It just goes to show you what can happen when Jason Pritt comes to play every night," said Lincoln coach Dennis Hutson about his senior center, who scored nine points and grabbed nine rebounds. "This is a much better team and that's the difference between our team tonight and the one that played on Tuesday (Bridgeport)."
The Huskies (6-1) had one last chance, but Danny Hardesty intercepted the long inbounds pass and made a free throw to ice the victory which upped the Cougars record to 3-5 on the season.
In the early going, the Cougars displayed some excellent basketball in building a 16-point lead, 48-32, with 3:09 to play in the third quarter.
Most of the credit for the Cougars' excellent play belonged to Hardesty and Barnes. Hardesty scored 14 points while Barnes netted 13 at that point in the contest.
"We played great basketball and we played great defense for two-and-a-half quarters," stated Hutson. "You knew they were going to make a run because they are a good basketball team and are not 6-0 for nothing."
The Cougars' mentor was right as the Huskies cut the deficit to nine (50-41) after three periods and eventually took their only lead of the game at 62-61 with 1:52 to play on a D.J. Hayes layup.
Clark Riley quickly gave Lincoln back the advantage on a driving hoop just six seconds later and the Cougars precariously made free throws down the stretch.
"It is still an adventure for us at the free throw line (13-of-24), but we made the ones we had to make," pointed out Hutson. "It was a good team win and that's what it is all about."
Hardesty led three Cougars in double figures with 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Barnes followed with 15, while Brian Edwards added 10.
Following Freeman in scoring for the Huskies were Kris Garlow with 15 points, Hayes chipped in 12 and Ben Richardson tossed in 10 and pulled down nine caroms.
North Marion (68)
Freeman 8 2-3 20; Garlow 6 3-7 15; Glance 2 0-1 4; Taylor 0 1-2 1; D.J.Hayes 4 4-4 12; Williams 1 1-3 3; Richardson 4 2-3 10; G.Hayes 1 0-1 3; Totals 25 13-24 68.
Lincoln (71)
Barnes 6 2-5 15; Riley 4 0-1 8; Edwards 4 2-6 10; Hardesty 6 8-14 20; Pravda 2 0-0 4; Buckhannon 2 0-0 5; Pritt 4 1-2 9; Totals 28 13-28 71.
North
Marion
12
13
16
27_68
Lincoln
15
21
14
21_71
3-Point Goals:
_ Freeman 2, G.Hayes, Barnes, Buckhannon.
Updated January 22, 1997
Class AA No. 4 Tucker
Topples Bucs, 68-57
TUCKER COUNTY 68, Buckhannon-Upshur 57: Class AA No. 4 Tucker County had five players score in double figures as the Mountain Lions ran past Buckhannon-Upshur 68-57 in high school boys basketball action Saturday afternoon.
Wesley Lambert and Derek Simmons scored 14 points each, Josh Bunnell and Jim Aliff each added 13 while Chad Kisamore had 11 for the 6-1 hosts.
"In the second quarter we played very well," said TCHS coach Tom Gutshall. "We picked up our defensive pressure and got the ball out and ran on offense. That's what we like to do."
Tucker took an 18-17 lead into the second period and used a 25-11 run in the second period to gain a comfortable 43-28 advantage by intermission.
The Buccaneers battled back in the third period, however, outscoring the hosts 13-9 to trail 52-41 going into the final period.
"I think in the third period we got back to standing around too much," said Gutshall. "We didn't play with much intensity in that period."
But, the Mountain Lions were able to seal the victory in the final period with a solid effort.
"The whole key to our wins has been our balance," related Gutshall. "We don't have any superstars. But, we do have a lot of unselfish team players that can play the game."
Jason Westfall led Buckhannon-Upshur with 18 points while Mike Childers added 15.
Tucker County returns to action Tuesday when it visits Liberty. Buckhannon-Upshur travels to Philip Barbour on Monday.
Buckhannon-Upshur (57)
Jeran 3 0-0 6; Childers 7 1-2 15; Baldwin 2 2-2 6; McDaniels 1 0-0 2; Westfall 7 4-5 18; Able 0 1-2 1; Hawkins 4 0-0 9; Totals 24 8-11 57
Tucker County (68)
Campbell 0 0-2 0; Gaither 1 1-2 3; Bunnell 5 1-3 13; Kisamore 2 6-6 11; Lambert 5 2-2 14; Simmons 7 0-1 14; Aliff 5 3-4 13; Totals 25 13-20 68.
Buckhannon-Upshur
17
11
13
16_57
Tucker County
18
25
9
16_68
3-Point Goals:
Bunnell 2, Kisamore, Lambert 2, Hawkins.
Updated January 22, 1997
Doddridge County
Uses Great Defense
To Pound Wirt Co.
WEST UNION _ Doddridge County came out and dominated the game early with a strong pressure defense, led by Jason Lipscomb and Ryan Hutson, as the Bulldogs crushed Wirt County 73-30 in Little Kanawha Conference boys basketball action Thursday night.
The victory was the fifth straight for the Bulldogs who are now 5-1. Wirt County fell to 2-5.
The Tigers never could get untracked as they scored 10 points in the first quarter but managed only single digits in each of the remaining frames.
After leading 17-10 at the end of the first period, the Bulldogs used a 6-0 run to finish the first half to claim a 31-14 lead at intermission.
Hutson scored eight of his game-high 17 points in the opening half to lead the way while Lipscomb connected for six.
The Bulldogs continued to pull away in the third period and had total control of the game when the Tigers went ice cold midway through the third period. The hosts unleashed a 23-0 run led by Joe Griffin's nine points to put the game away.
Wirt's Ryan Lucas scored his team's final basket before the cold spell at the 4:06 mark of the third canto. The drought ended at the 4:14 mark of the fourth period when Tom Ferrebee's bucket made the score 65-26.
In between, the Bulldogs substituted freely but it made little difference.
"We've been playing good defense since the loss to Paden City (in the season opener)," said DCHS coach Dan McConnell. "That was a big letdown for us at the beginning of the year.
"(But) I think it sent a message to these kids that if they go out and play good defense and play hard for four quarters they'll be successful. That's what we've been doing."
Griffin scored 13 points and had 13 rebounds for the 'Dogs while Aaron Trent scored eight.
Wirt was led by Chris Long's eight points while Chris Bailey and Lucas each had six.
Doddridge returns to action on Tuesday when it hosts Ritchie County. Wirt is at home on Saturday as it hosts Clay County.
Wirt County (30)
Long 4 0-0 8; C.Bailey 3 0-1 6; Lucas 3 0-0 6; Fountaine 1 2-2 5; Ferrebee 2 0-0 4; Weser 0 1-5 1; J.Bailey 0 0-1 0; Nicolais 0 0-1 0; Totals 13 3-10 30
Doddridge County (73)
Hutson 6 4-5 17; Griffin 5 3-8 13; Trent 4 0-0 8; Lipscomb 2 2-2 6; McGill 3 0-0 6; Chumley 3 0-0 6; Ross 1 2-2 5; Richards 2 0-2 4; James 2 0-0 4; Doll 2 0-2 4; Totals 30 11-21 73
Wirt County
10
7
7
6_30
Doddridge County
17
14
22
20_73
3-Point Goals:
Fountaine, Hutson, Ross.
Updated January 13, 1997
Henderson, Garrett
Pace Bearcats To
62-59 Win over ND
By MIKE NUTTER
GRAFTON _ Eli Henderson and Jay Garrett accounted for 41 of their team's 62 points as Grafton pulled out a 62-59 win over Notre Dame in boys high school basketball action.
E. Henderson made his presence most felt in the fourth quarter by scoring 10 of his game-high 22 points, as the teams went into the final canto tied at 44.
After two Bearcat hoops gave the hosts a 48-44 lead, John Paul Rieser canned a pull-up jumper to cut the lead to two.
E. Henderson then hit both ends of a one-and-one to bring the GHS advantage to four once again.
However, the Irish cut the lead back to one on Josh Riffle's 3-pointer and grabbed the lead at 51-50 on LaDon Garrett's steal and lay-up.
Following a Garrett hoop off of a no-look pass from Rieser, the Bearcats took the lead once again at 54-53 courtesy of E. Henderson's back-to-back buckets with 2:54 remaining.
Garrett's stick-back hoop gave ND the lead at 55-54 and the two squads traded hoops until the one minute mark when Jeremy Parker nailed a trey to give the Irish a 59-58 lead.
Once again, Henderson was the man, as he was able to drive the baseline and drill another jumper to give his team the lead for good at 60-59 with 45 seconds showing on the clock.
After the Bearcats forced an Irish turnover, GHS was able to break the ND press and Lance Marshall converted on a layup with 11 seconds left and put the game away, as the Irish were unable to convert on their 3-point attempt.
As dominating as E. Henderson and Garrett were, GHS head coach Mike Crutchfield was quick to give credit to his entire team.
"I thought this was a good team win even though Eli (Henderson) did have a couple key baskets for us in the last three minutes. We missed four straight free throws that let them back in it but I was pleased to see that we were able come back as a team."
The Irish found themselves playing catch-up all night as they trailed 19-13 after the first quarter.
After the Bearcats built a 25-19 lead early in the second quarter, Rieser canned a 10-footer and Riffle hit a trifecta to cut the GHS lead to one at 25-24.
Grafton took a 31-27 lead at intermission when Bo Henderson drilled a bomb at the buzzer and the Bearcats seemed to have the momentum.
"I thought the kids played hard, but we weren't aggressive enough on the boards," commented NDHS head coach Angelo Basile. "That could have been part of the reason for the outcome, but I think we definitely have to play more aggressive underneath."
The third quarter was much like the fourth as both teams traded hoops and neither was able to take control of the game.
With a 40-35 lead, Grafton looked like they might pull away, but Riffle drilled another three and LaDon Garrett tipped in an errant Irish free throw to knot the game at 40.
The teams traded hoops to end the third before the Bearcats claimed the win.
J. Garrett followed E. Henderson in scoring with 19 points and 10 rebounds for Grafton (4-2), while Notre Dame was led by Rieser's 19 and Garrett's 18 points and 14 caroms.
Notre Dame (59)
Rieser 7 1-3 19; Garrett 9 0-0 18; Riffle 3 1-2 10; Parker 2 0-0 5; Caputo 2 0-0 6; Howard 1 0-0 3; McIntosh 1 0-2 2; Totals 25 2-7 59.
Grafton (62)
Bobella 2 0-2 5; B.Henderson 1 0-0 3; Garrett 7 5-9 19; Jones 2 0-0 4; E.Henderson 9 2-2 22;
Marshall 2 5-8 9. Totals 23 12-21 62.
Notre Dame
13
14
17
15_59 Grafton
19
12
13
18_62
3-Point Goals:
Riffle 3, Parker, Caputo 2, Howard, Bobella, B.Henderson, E.Henderson 2.
Updated January 15, 1997
Several Key Boys Basketball
Games Slated This Evening
By DANNY CARPENTER
An intra-Harrison County boys basketball matchup highlights tonight's prep schedule as Lincoln travels to Bridgeport.
In other games involving county teams, Liberty entertains Grafton in a key Big 10 contest and Class AA No. 4 Tucker County travels to South Harrison.
In Bridgeport, the Cougars and the Indians meet each other for the first time this season as LHS looks to improve its winning streak to two while BHS is also coming off a win.
Lincoln, 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the Big 10, has five players averaging at least seven points a game with Mike Barnes leading the way with his 14 points per game.
Danny Hardesty chips in 12.5 and Clark Riley adds 9.0 while Brian Edwards and Jason Pritt each average 7.0.
Bridgeport, 5-2 and 3-1, is also led by a balanced offensive attack with four players averaging double figures.
Anthony Ziglear leads the Indians with a 14-point average followed by Chris Kerr's 13.3, Michael Stumpo's 12.4 and Brian Zickefoose's 11.3.
At Liberty, the Mountaineers look to improve their Big 10 record to 4-0 against a tough Bearcat team.
LHS, 3-2, is led by Brian Ross' 18.6 average while Bryan Harman and Guy Curotz manage 12.8 ppg. Point guard Anthony Bellotte contributes 10.2
GHS is led by Eli Henderson and Jay Garrett and is coming off a 62-59 win over Notre Dame on Monday.
At Lost Creek, the Hawks try to claim their first win of the season against the 4-1 Mountain Lions.
SHHS, 0-6, is led by Adam Davisson's 18.5 points per game while Jason Wilson and Tom Sears contribute to the Hawks' offensive attack.
TCHS is led by Josh Bunnell.
Other boys games: Philip Barbour at Preston, Ritchie County at Doddridge County, Fairmont Senior at Buckhannon-Upshur, East Fairmont at Elkins, Morgantown at Lewis County, North Marion at University, Valley Wetzel at Wheeling Central and Union at Circleville.
Clay-Battelle at Madonna, Gilmer County at Clay County, Paden City at Hundred, Pocahontas County at Petersburg, Webster County at Tygarts Valley and Tyler Consolidated at Williamstown.
Valley Wetzel travels to Mt. DeChantal in the area's only girls high school basketball game tonight.
Game times are 7:30 p.m.
Updated January 15, 1997
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