By Stephen Smoot
“I knew last week would be tough,” said Pendleton County head boys basketball coach Jeremy Bodkin. I think that we learned some stuff, but it’s good to get a win.”
The first week of the season saw the ninth ranked Wildcats traveling to number one ranked Tucker County. They also absorbed a 90 to 50 loss at top 10 in quad A ranked Jefferson High School. After a one day delay due to weather, Pendleton County battled Pocahontas County.
Pocahontas County took the opening tip and immediately took the initial lead with a 15-foot jump shot. The opening two minutes saw both teams experiencing some ragged play, trading turnovers as they got settled into the game.
Dusty Smith put his team on the board first when fouled by the Warriors at the 6:33 mark. Only 12 seconds later, Smith made a tremendous hustling save that helped to set up a Josiah Kimble shot to give the Wildcats their first lead at 4 to 2. The Warriors quickly answered, but a strong post move from Zykijah Wright led to a layup, a made free throw, and a 7 to 4 lead.
The Warriors scored again to close within one, and that is the closest they came to the Wildcats for the rest of the game.
Henry Warner entered the game with less than four minutes to play in the first and made an immediate impact. He stole the ball at the 3:19 mark, tipped a shot in 10 seconds later, then got a steal with 2:40 left in the quarter.
In workmanlike fashion, Pendleton County manufactured points and tightened its defense through the first quarter. The Wildcats then exploded in the second quarter, outscoring their opponents 22 to seven in the stanza.
Justus Kuykendall started the run with a steal that he drove in for a layup to set the score at 20 to 9. Shortly afterward, Chase Owens repeated the feat. This all took place in the first 30 seconds.
Later in the quarter, Wyatt Franklin found Cashton Kisamore with a well placed pass to the post. Kisamore’s layup set the score at 30 to 12 with two minutes remaining in the half. Owens took over the game at the 1:30 mark. He scored an athletic layup, then followed that with two made free throws. With 12 seconds left, he scored a fast break layup. A late Pocahontas County basket put the halftime score at 40 to 16.
The recipe for success in the first half rested on the Wildcats patiently breaking down the Warrior defense, probing for openings with good passing and personnel movement. The Warriors struggled to find open shots, but they moved well and showed athleticism.
The second half showed that Pocahontas County was truly a team of Warriors. Undeterred by the score, they fought back in the third quarter. While they still struggled to get open and score, the Pocahontas County defenders remained active. They also cut back on the turnovers that led to many easy Pendleton County layups at the other end.
For 5:40, Pocahontas County labored to put together an 11 to nothing run. Warner broke the cold spell by hitting a 10-foot shot. Franklin then swiped the ball and drove the length of the floor to lay in a shot to push the lead to 44 to 27.
Bodkin said of his squad, “I keep trying to remind myself that these guys are sophomores.” He added that “we fight through it. We took over when we needed to.”
In the fourth quarter, active defense and more aggressive offense stymied Warrior efforts to get back into contention. Jaydon Hess started the quarter by hustling down the court to block a layup on a fast break. Warner followed with a three-point basket to give his team an 18 point advantage. With just less than six minutes left, Pocahontas County again sent Wright to the line where he – again – made both free throws. He followed that with a steal that gave the Wildcats a possession where Kimble found Warner for another three-pointer.
Franklin’s 17-footer with 4:48 left and a Warner three 45 seconds later gave their squad a 57 to 29 lead. Jacob Buck then shot a three-pointer and scored a steal with just under three minutes remaining. Buck then took a Hess pass for a layup, the Wildcats’ final basket.
The final score was 62 to 31.
The next night, the Wildcats had a quick turnaround, traveling to Tygart Valley. They dispatched the always challenging Bulldogs 64 to 51.
Against the Warriors Warner led the team with 16. Owens followed with 10, Kimble and Franklin both had eight, Buck, Kisamore, Wright five, and Smith three, and Kuykendall had two.
The Wildcats were scheduled to play at home Wednesday and will participate in the Holiday Tournament in Petersburg on Dec. 29 and 30.
