By Stephen Smoot
As Pendleton County moves closer to the postseason, the boys’ basketball squad has hit the meat and potatoes of a grinding schedule. Since a hard-earned win at Moorefield on Feb 4, the Wildcats dropped an 80-54 loss to highly ranked Class AA Doddridge County, tangled with the always-dangerous Tygarts Valley and prevailed 54-40, then dropped a tough loss at East Hardy, 57-28.
Pocahontas County had to bear the brunt of Pendleton frustrations after the loss to the Cougars.
The Warriors tried to get in front early and forced a turnover only 30 seconds into the contest with a one-two-two zone defense. As the two teams felt each other out, scoring just did not take place until the 5:55 mark when Henry Warner hit a three-point shot and put his squad up for good in the game.
The Warriors scored a layup to cut the lead to one 10 seconds after Warner’s bucket. Four seconds later, Chase Owens took the ball inside, then kicked it to his brother, Travis, on the perimeter for a three-point bucket and a 6-2 advantage. Pendleton County hustled into a tight press at every opportunity and the stout play of Wildcat defenders in it generated offense consistently until head coach Josh Owens mercifully lifted it.
Cashton Kisamore at 3:03 took an offensive rebound, his first of six in the game and nine total on the night, back up for a layup to set the score at 11-3. Not long after, a Chase Owens shot fell short, but Kisamore got into position to tap it back in. He collected nine points on the night.
Cameron Wyatt opened up a big night at the end of the first, taking a pass inside up for two of his 14 points on the evening with a 75 percent shooting percentage. Jaydon Hess also helped to make the end of the first stanza particularly frustrating for the visitors, garnering two steals on the press and scoring four points, all in the last 1:02.
Leading 19-5, Pendleton County entered the second quarter if anything, with even more intensity. They outscored Pocahontas County 26 to seven in the quarter. At 7:13, Hess repeated his favorite move, swiping the ball on the press and quickly scoring the ball. Chase Owens and Kisamore about 30 seconds later converged on a Warrior player and relieved him of the ball, leading to a quick foul putting Kisamore on the line.
Toward the end of the quarter, Dalton Rohrbaugh tied up a Warrior player and forced a turnover. Chase Owens hit a three to reward the effort and the half ended with the score 45 to 12.
The fourth quarter gave Pocahontas County little relief. About two minutes in came the familiar refrain of a steal from the opponents leading to a score for the home team. This time Tony VanMeter took the ball and Ty Heavner benefited from the defensive effort by scoring a layup. Not long after, Cayson Armstrong fired a pass outside to Wyatt, who buried a three. With time winding down in the fourth, Knoxx Wright snagged an offensive rebound, made a turnaround move and put in a layup. Exactly 30 seconds later, Armstrong scored on his own offensive rebound.
On Monday, the Wildcats traveled to Tucker County and came home with a 62-51 win over the Mountain Lions.
Pendleton County has some tall orders coming up between now and the end of the season, hosting Lewis County, traveling to Spring Valley, then hosting East Hardy. The season closes with the Wildcats hosting Union and Petersburg.
