By Stephen Smoot
“There’s no answer for it.”
So said a game attendee from Pocahontas County who made the hour or so trek through occasionally tropical storm force winds to watch the sectional game against first seeded Pendleton County.
The comment came a quarter and a half into the game as they watched Pendleton County players drive effortlessly to score layups time and time again.
Pendleton County took the opening tip and took the lead 19 seconds into the action. Bradey Bowers, in his first start of the year, bounced a pass to a cutting Chase Owens, who deftly laid the ball in for a 2-0 score.
For the first four minutes and five seconds, the Wildcats did no wrong and the Warriors little right. Cashton Kisamore executed a drop step post move to score a layup. Shortly afterward, Dusty Smith drove past his man to the basket, then kicked out a pass for an Owens three-point shot.
Owens, exactly 40 seconds later, took a Kisamore pass from down low to knock down another three. That was followed by an Owens assist to a cutting Wyatt Franklin and then an Owens drive and layup.
That set the score at 14-0.
The Warriors finally drew a cheer from their fans when they knocked down a three-point shot to end the drought, but Kisamore quickly answered at the 2:50 mark with a layup.
With a little less than two minutes in the first, Justus Kuykendall drew a foul and made one of two to set the lead at 22-4. A minute later, Jaydon Hess drove from the right wing to the left post, floating past the defender and laying the ball in with his left hand. A Franklin three ended scoring in the first at 27-9.
Head coach Jeremy Bodkin refrained from using his team’s highly effective press in this matchup. He also substituted early and liberally, both moves part of an apparent effort to prevent a blowout.
Once the Wildcats pushed the lead out to 20, Pocahontas County kept pace. The Warriors found openings at times to hit long range shots that temporarily edged into the lead. Pocahontas County also executed in bounds plays on their offensive end of the court with incredible precision and, usually, successful results.
Pendleton County effectively ran a motion style offense for a time, until Warrior coaches urged their defenders to move in the way of Wildcat cutters to disrupt their timing.
Late in the second quarter, a Pocahontas County three sliced the lead back to 16. Henry Warner, shortly thereafter, answered by taking a Bowers pass at the foul line extended and hitting a jump shot.
Pendleton County enjoyed a 17-point advantage at halftime.
The Warriors scored first in the third quarter, setting the score at 39-24, the closest gap since the middle of the first. Owens then scored twice, first on a baseline drive, then on another layup, extending the lead to 43-24 with 5:21 remaining in the period.
Pocahontas County hit two free throws, but then gave up two consecutive offensive rebounds and layups to Zykijah Wright. With Kisamore getting in early foul trouble, Wright assumed the role of keeping the Warriors off the boards, which he and the rest of the Wildcats generally did most of the night.
Franklin served as a constant disruption to the Warriors, taking a number of steals. With 3:07 left, he took the ball quickly up court on a fast break. He bounced a pass to Smith, who quickly returned it to Franklin for a layup.
Almost a minute later, Smith exploded past his man, scoring a layup and giving his squad a 52-28 lead. Smith and Owens drove at will against the Warrior defense, much too quick for their defenders to stop.
Kuykendall led off the final stanza with a layup, setting the lead at 20. Pocahontas County answered with a layup, but Smith hauled in an offensive rebound and scored to restore the advantage of 20.
No let up came from the Wildcats. At the 3:16 point, Warner drove the ball to the basket, picked up a foul, and completed both free throws. Over a minute later, Kuykendall drove into the lane, used a Eurostep move to get past a defender, and laid the ball in.
Pocahontas County hit a three in the final seconds, placing the final score at 66-49.
Pendleton County next faced the always dangerous Tygarts Valley on Friday night. The Bulldogs gained a solid win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 62-50.
