Pendleton County one of three unbeaten boys basketball teams in West Virginia

(Chris George contributed to this report)

FRANKLIN, W.Va. — With three weeks remaining in the regular season for boys high school basketball teams, three squads are still carrying perfect records. Shady Spring (16-0), Williamstown (17-0) and Pendleton County (14-0) have passed every test to date.

The Wildcats went 9-0 in January and that included the Class A championship at the Big Atlantic Classic in Beckley.

“These kids have put in the work in the summer,” said Pendleton County head coach Ryan Lambert. “We’re excited about the start. We are happy with the year. We are content. But ultimately we know where we want to be at the end of the year. Of course that is in Charleston with the final eight teams and giving ourselves a shot.”

Pendleton has made their way on the defensive end of the floor. The Wildcats are allowing just 43 points per game and no opponent has scored more than 58 points. They have held teams to fifty points or less eleven times in fourteen games.

“The kids have really bought into defense. It is a culture thing. It takes guys on the bench working every day in practice. It takes guys who are in the starting lineup understanding what we do from the top down. We have been talking a lot about ‘treasure what you measure’.”

Four Wildcats average at least nine points per game. Junior Bailey Thompson leads the team in scoring at 16.3 points per contest. Laird Sweet chips in with 13.2 per game.

“Both of them are gym rats. Basketball is their sport. Early on, the basketball knack was there, the footwork was not. We have really put the time in. Baseball season this past year, we were in the gym, doing cones and doing work. We couldn’t have a basketball in our hands but we were still doing work and having them understand it was going to take that work.”

This fall, the Pendleton County football team went 11-2 and advanced to the Class A state semifinals. The Wildcat basketball is also primed for a deep postseason run. PCHS has never advanced to the state tournament since the school opened in 1998 but they have been close in recent years. Pendleton has played in the regional round six times in the last nine years, including three times in the last four.

“These kids were all part of last year’s team. It was motivating for us to lose that sectional championship last year (to Tucker County) and then have to travel to Trinity instead of hosting. The number one goal of course is to host. No matter who comes, even if we were lucky enough to host, whoever comes with the two seed is going to be a challenge.”

Pendleton was scheduled to face Huntington St. Joseph’s and Charleston Catholic on the road this weekend but those games have been canceled due to winter weather. The Wildcats are scheduled to visit Pocahontas County Tuesday.





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