By Stephen Smoot
Last week, two of the most dynamic programs in West Virginia single A came together in Franklin to battle. While the night provided all the excitement expected of it, the Wildcats did not get the result they fought so hard to achieve.
From the start, the capacity crowd backed their teams loud and proud with seemingly equal numbers of Wildcat and Mountain Lion supporters. They created a big game atmosphere that translated into energetic performances by both squads.
Tucker County controlled the initial tip and roared out to an early lead, despite strong pressure by the Pendleton County defense. They hit shots early close to the basket. Despite great pressure by especially Dusty Smith, resulting in a backcourt steal at one point, at the five-minute mark in the first quarter, the Mountain Lions led 9-2.
The Wildcats would dominate the rest of the half and well into the third quarter.
One of the catalysts of the Wildcat surge was freshman guard Chase Owens. He worked his way into the starting lineup with gritty defense and good shooting ability. Owens put the team on his back in the middle of the first quarter, first driving past his defender for a layup to cut the lead to 9-4.
After a Josiah Kimble three brought the Wildcats to within two, Owens found a cutting Clayton Kisamore for an easy layup to tie the game. He answered a subsequent Tucker County layup with a three-pointer to put the Wildcats ahead for the first time in the game, inspiring thunderous student section chants of “he’s a freshman!” That was followed with another Owens three with 47 seconds to play putting his team up 15-13. Brayden Beachler blocked a Tucker County three with less than a second to go to close action in the quarter.
Between the 1:06 mark in the first quarter and about 6:20 left in the second, Pendleton County went on a 13-0 run. For much of the second quarter the Wildcats started to run their offense from about 23 feet away from the basket, primarily passing along the perimeter. This set up situations loosely comparable to NBA isolation plays. Pendleton County’s ballhandlers aggressively drove around their defenders isolated in man-to-man coverage, finding good passes and easy shots close to the basket. This also forced Tucker County into a more reactive defense for a time.
Jacob Beachler, Kisamore, and others methodically broke down their defenders, using their athleticism and skills to complete layups and draw fouls. Jacob Beachler, as always, blocked shots and forced mistakes close to the basket. As the game wore on, however, Tucker County players adjusted to the shot-blocker by taking higher arcing shots over his outstretched hands.
In the third quarter, Tucker County adjusted by focusing on running their offense, as opposed to taking early open shots that they generally missed in the first half. They did not truly settle in, however, until the middle of the stanza. Kimble hit a three-pointer with 2:49 left in the quarter to give the Wildcats a 37-24 lead.
After the Kimble three, Tucker County erupted with a flurry of made three-pointers, mostly from the left corner by their own bench. Between the 2:49 mark in the third and the 3:26 mark in the fourth, Tucker County hit six three-pointers, most of them hotly contested, and executed a 24-3 run to build a 48-40 advantage over the Wildcats.
Pendleton County tried to work their way back into the game, but excellent defense by the Mountain Lions held them at bay the rest of the evening. The final score of 58-47 reflected more the lights out free throw shooting after intentional fouls by the Wildcats in the last two minutes than how close these teams actually are in terms of both ability and effort.
Scoring: Owens 17, Kisamore 11, Kimble 11, Jacob Beachler 5, Brayden Beachler 3.
The Wildcats are scheduled to play at Tygarts Valley today.
