MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Class AAA No. 2 University rolled to a comfortable 80-45 win over Wheeling Park on Tuesday night in the OVAC 5A semifinals.
Ethan Ridgeway and Kaden Metheny combined for 43 points for the Hawks (17-1) on the night.
“When they get clicking like that, they just get in a zone and everyone else feeds off of it,” said University coach Joe Schmidle. “It gives everyone else confidence to score the ball.
Metheny scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half, while Ridgeway finished with 23 points to lead University in the win.
UHS led 36-23 at the break.
“We made a few little adjustments on defense after the first three or four minutes tonight – (Wheeling Park) was getting to the hoop a little too easy,” Schmidle said. “We did a better job of preventing that from there on out.”
It’s a Hawks team that entered play on Tuesday night having hit 121 3s on the year, shooting 39 percent from beyond the arc and 57 percent from the floor overall.
The Hawks will face No. 1 Parkersburg South (18-1) on Saturday for the OVAC 5A championship. University’s lone loss came to the Patriots back on January 24, 67-63.
“We’re really looking forward to playing Parkersburg South again,” Ridgeway said. “It’s going to be a good matchup and it will be a fun game.”
First things first, however, and that’s a rematch against Wheeling Park on Thursday, a make-up from a contest that was snowed out earlier this year.
“That’s a trap game if I’ve ever seen one,” Schmidle said. “What does that game count for? It’s another game that’s going to be on your record. And this year for the state tournament, every single loss on your record is huge.”