POCA, W.Va. — David Early scored 42 points, including the game-winning basket with nine seconds left in double overtime as Logan outlasted Poca, 55-53.
Playing in front of his future college coach, Marshall’s Dan D’Antoni, Early battled through an ankle injury suffered after making a basket in the fourth quarter and willed the Wildcats to a key victory.
“Initially, we didn’t know if he was going to be able to get back in or not,” said Logan head coach Zach Green. “He played really, really well down the stretch. I don’t know how he made some of those shots. He has great body control and he does a really good job of feeling where the defense is coming from and being able to spin away from it.”
“I was just trying to be patient and wait for gaps in the defense,” Early said. “I just trusted my teammates.”
Tied at 53 with 10 seconds left, Early drove to the hoop into a pile of defenders and drained what proved to be the decisive basket. Poca was unable to answer at the buzzer, giving the Wildcats a measure of revenge from last year’s loss in the regional round.
“He was guarding me and it opened up left. It was a wide open lane and I knew it was going in,” said Early of his winning basket.
In the forty minutes of play, neither team led by more than six points. Logan led 10-7 after the first quarter and 18-16 at halftime. Poca closed the third quarter well to even the score at 28. The Wildcats used an 8-0 fourth quarter run to take a 38-32 lead with two minutes left in regulation. But Poca closed the fourth quarter on an 8-2 run, sending the game into overtime tied at 40.
“I was a little bit worried giving them the momentum on their home floor going into overtime,” Green said. “But we did a good job of getting stops and buckets when we needed them.”
In the first extra session, Early and Poca’s Isaac McKneely traded shots and the game was sent to a second overtime tied at 46. One minute into double overtime, a 3-pointer by McKneely game the Dots (15-3) a 51-48 edge. McKneely led PHS with 26 points. However, Early’s heroics allowed the Wildcats (12-7) to pick up their twelfth victory of the season.
Both teams were deliberate on offense, leading to an economy of possessions, especially in the fourth quarter and in the overtimes. “My guys really surprised me with the way that we were able to control the ball and be patient,” Green said.
“We think there is another level we can get to,” Green said. “We almost got to it in the Chapmanville game. We just have to keep getting better every day.”