MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — University boys basketball coach Joe Schmidle knows his team will need to improve defensively as the season progresses.
For now, however, the Hawks’ offense is plenty good enough to produce the team’s desired results.
UHS guards Kaden Metheny and KJ McClurg each scored 25 points and the Hawks shot better than 58 percent from the field to race by Hurricane, 101-70.
“It was good to see some flow to the game,” Schmidle said. “The last couple of games we’ve just been grinding. We really had to work to get points. Our guys saw the ball go through the basket early tonight and that kind of got us going.”
With the win, University improved to 6-0 and won twice in as many games in the G Force Lock & Safe Holiday Classic at Morgantown High.
The Hawks were in control throughout against the Redskins (1-3). Metheny went on a personal 8-0 run late in the opening quarter to help University hold a 22-9 lead entering the second.
McClurg scored 10 of the UHS 28 points in the second quarter, and the Hawks finished the half on a 6-0 run to take a 50-31 lead into the break.
University made 23-of-38 field goal attempts in the first half, with Metheny and McClurg combining to go 15-of-19 with 32 points.
“They had a hard time with our pressure and we kind of had a feeling they would,” Schmidle said.
The standout UHS guards continued to shine in the third quarter, with each making a pair of 3-pointers to help the Hawks score 30 points and open up an 80-50 lead.
Ryan Niceler was also effective throughout the contest. Niceler made 8-of-11 shots to score 18 points and give University a third player in double figures.
The Hawks had only six turnovers despite playing uptempo throughout.
Ethan Spolarich led Hurricane with 17 points, while Austin Womack and Austin Dearing scored 14 apiece in defeat.
“We have a lot of work to do. We have to get better defensively and we have to learn how to rebound the basketball,” Schmidle said. “We’re not trying to stop people. We’re trying to outscore people. It’s not a good thing.”