Listen Now: Morning News

Harman sparks Martinsburg in win over Woodrow Wilson

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Class AAA No. 4 Martinsburg used a strong fourth quarter to pull away from No. 5 Woodrow Wilson on Thursday afternoon, winning 58-48 in the boys basketball quarterfinals.

“That was a great win,” said Martinsburg coach Dave Rogers. “They’re a great program and that was evident today. But I thought our guys played hard.

“We got loose balls when we needed to get them and we hit our foul shots down the stretch,” he continued. “We also won the battle of the boards 32-23, which really helped.”

The Bulldogs (21-5) had the early advantage, leading 26-18 at the half, but a 19-11 third quarter from Woodrow Wilson tied the game up at 37-37 going into the fourth.

The game’s key stretch came late in the fourth as the Bulldogs used a 10-0 run to take a 47-39 lead with 2:13 remaining.

“We just had to make sure that we settled down and took good shots,” Rogers said. “When someone comes back on you like that, your tendency is that you want to shoot it real quick.

Grant Harman scored 19 points to lead Martinsburg Thursday in a quarterfinal win over Woodrow Wilson.

“Normally that’s not a good thing to do,” he continued. “If you stay with your offense, stay within your system, play with each other and have each other’s backs, then you can be successful.”

Martinsburg’s season leading scorer, Corey Barnett — who averages 21 points per game — was limited to just five shot attempts and finished with 10 points.

“It really didn’t bother me,” Barnett said. “I just wanted to win and that’s what we did.”

It was the production of Grant Harman (19 points) and Jarrod Bowie (11 points) that helped fill that gap.

“That’s what makes a team,” Rogers said. “There’s no question that our go-to person is Corey (Barnett). He’s worked extremely hard to get to this point. They were doubling him pretty good inside.

“But sometimes you have to take what they give you,” he continued. “If they’re taking one thing away, they’re giving you something else. I thought we hit some big 3s there in the first half.”

Harman was a big part of that, going 6 of 10 from the floor overall and 3 of 4 from 3 in the win.

“We had a talk before the game in that we weren’t going to go out like this,” Harman said. “We have a lot of seniors on this team, important seniors, and we wanted to make this trip special for them.

“I think what separates us from a lot of teams is that we have eight or nine players who can come off of the bench and produce,” he continued. “It doesn’t matter who is out there. We always have guys who can come off of the bench and produce.”

Mikey Penn led Woodrow Wilson (18-7) with 16 points in the loss, while Danny Bickey scored 10 points.

Junior point guard Bryce Radford totaled seven points, four assists and a steal for the Flying Eagles.

“We played horrible (in the first half) and were only down eight coming into halftime,” Radford said. “We knew if we played well, we should have won the game – but we didn’t.

“But these seniors (we have),” he continued. “They’re the best senior class that Woodrow has seen in a long time.”

Martinsburg moves on to face No. 1 University in the semifinals Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. – a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal contest won by the Hawks.

“They’re No. 1 for a reason, they’re very good. They have a premier point guard (in Kaden Metheny),” Rogers said. “They have guys who can play – they’re not overly big, but they’re very athletic and very scrappy.

“That’s who put us out of the tournament last year,” he continued. “They got out on us quick last year and then we played even for three quarters. We’ll be ready to play.”

POSTGAME:





More High School Sports

High School Sports
Montague & Nutter each drive in four runs as Morgantown rallies past University, 8-6
The Mohigans took their only lead of the game in the sixth inning with Caleb Nutter's 3-run double.
March 27, 2024 - 9:59 pm
High School Sports
Class AA Boys Basketball All-State List
Charleston Catholic's Jayallen Turner captains first team.
March 27, 2024 - 12:10 am
High School Sports
Class A Boys Basketball All-State List
Webster County's Rayden Triplett captains first team.
March 26, 2024 - 9:46 am
High School Sports
Polar Bears hang on to edge East Fairmont, 3-2
Fairmont Senior got a complete game from Samuel Viani and run-scoring double from Ethan Miller during a two-run sixth inning. It was the only extra-base hit in the game.
March 25, 2024 - 10:53 pm