By Stephen Smoot
There’s no game quite like a rivalry game to bring forth the whole spectrum of emotions, especially when both teams expend every effort to earn the win. Such a game greeted fans in the opening act of the holiday tournament at Petersburg.
Prior to the game, the line to get into the gym extended out the door into the chilly evening. The play of the game kept the atmosphere inside hot.
Pendleton County took the tip off, but Moorefield took the first basket on a pick and roll play. Chase Owens answered with a spin move that took him to the hoop and a layup. Owens shortly thereafter stole the ball. Josiah Kimble then put his team on top, drawing a foul as he drove for a layup and hitting both free throws.
Just after the six minute mark in the first quarter, Moorefield drove the ball, hit a layup, and received a foul call, which they converted into a 5-4 lead. They clung to that lead for almost 30 seconds until Wyatt Franklin put the Wildcats back up, converting an offensive rebound into a layup.
The Yellow Jackets edged into the lead twice more in the quarter before giving it up for good. Kimble hit a 15-foot jump shot with 1:39 left in the quarter to set the score at 12-10. A Henry Warner steal led to Franklin finding Bradey Bowers for a score underneath. The quarter closed with a 14-11 score when Moorefield went one for two from the free throw line.
Pendleton County continued to squeeze points out of the Moorefield defense in the second quarter. The teams showed each other as mirror images. They both bring athleticism, toughness, and a measure of grit. The teams took pride in tightly defending each other. Wildcat shooters had to find more opportunities inside because the Yellow Jackets shifted on picks extremely efficiently.
A Cashton Kisamore steal led to Kimble completing a reverse finger roll layup to set the score at 18-11 one minute into the quarter. Pendleton County steadily built on the lead, but could not get too far ahead of Moorefield. Owens gave his team a seven-point lead at the half with a drive and score with only two seconds remaining.
Head coach Jeremy Bodkin reached deep into his bench during both games in Petersburg, Bowers, Justus Kuykendall, and Jaydon Hess gave strong minutes with ball handling and quick, relentless defense. Bodkin said of his bench players, “They’ve been practicing well. They step up for you.”
Perhaps recognizing the rivalry atmosphere, the officials also called a tight, clean, but fair game.
With a 25-18 lead, the Wildcats took the ball first in the second half. Owens led his team in the first few minutes to ensure that Pendleton County did not lose momentum. He hit a shot 15 seconds in to increase the lead to nine. At the 6:16 mark, he and Franklin combined on a steal that led to an Owens layup and a 29-18 advantage. Dusty Smith, as he had the entire game, harassed ballhandlers and disrupted Moorefield’s attempts to score. Smith grabbed a steal with 3:15 left in the quarter. Shortly after, Warner found him and he drilled a 17-foot shot to set the score at 35-20.
A 15-point advantage failed to extract the sting from the Yellow Jackets. They set to work eroding the big lead achieved in the third quarter. The Wildcats entered the final frame with the same lead they enjoyed at the half and pushed hard to extend it.
Shortly after the start of the quarter, Kisamore worked to pull down a rebound and lay it back in to provide a 40-29 lead. Kisamore and Zykijah Wright boxed out effectively and gave their team strength on the boards.
Down the stretch, both squads played with aggression and poise. At the two minute mark, however, Pendleton County seemed to have the win in hand with a 45-33 lead.
Then Moorefield mounted a desperate attempt to swarm the Wildcat team and steal a victory. They hit a layup at the 1:37 point, called a timeout, swiped a steal and hit a three, stole two more times and hit a layup at the 1:16 mark.
Suddenly, a 12-point lead earned by Bodkin’s young squad had two thirds evaporated.
Once again, the sophomore Owens stepped up to make key plays, first scoring on a reverse layup and drawing a foul. His made free throw put the score at 48-40 with 58 seconds left. Not content to force the action on offense alone, he blocked the next Moorefield shot.
But with eight seconds left, Moorefield buried another clutch three-point shot to bring the game within five points again. They managed to foul Owens twice in the remaining time. He converted every opportunity and let the Wildcats ride his late game heroics to a very close 52-43 win.
Owens led the team with 19, followed by Kimble with 17. Franklin scored five, Kisamore four, Bowers three, and Warner and Smith each with two.
The Wildcats are scheduled to travel to Petersburg on Saturday, host Tucker County on Monday and travel to Harman on Jan. 10.
