CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Two-time defending Class AAA state champion Huntington will play for its third straight boys basketball title after beating No. 6 Parkersburg South 66-52 on Friday night.
No. 2 Huntington (25-1) led 30-22 at the half and built on that for a 46-31 advantage heading into the fourth.
It was No. 6 Parkersburg South (19-8), though, which started the game with an 8-1 lead, but saw the Highlanders quickly go on a 16-0 run to take control.
“When the game started out, maybe we were a little bit too excited with too much emotion,” said Huntington coach Ron Hess. “We called a timeout and tried to get everyone calm down and make sure that we get back in our sets and play good defense.”
Tavian Dunn-Martin hit three 3s in that 16-0 stretch as he finished with 19 points on 7 of 18 shooting for the Highlanders.
“We just had to calm down and play basketball,” Dunn-Martin said. “I knew our shots were going to fall eventually, we just to keep getting defensive stops and put the ball in the bucket.”
J.R. Howard, meanwhile, scored 21 points overall, including 14 straight points for Huntington during a stretch in the second half. The Highlanders led by 19, 52-33, with 5:24 to go.
“I wasn’t shooting good at first,” Howard said. “But Coach Hess just told me to calm down and that the shots would come. I had to get to the hole and get into a rhythm. Then I saw that I had a mismatch, so I took advantage of it.”
Parkersburg South, which had a grueling double-overtime win over Capital the night before, shot just 33 percent on the night.
“I could tell they were getting a little bit tired,” Dunn-Martin said. “They weren’t finishing layups like they usually do, but that was a good thing for us and we got the win.”
Cody Boggs scored 18 points to lead the Patriots.
Huntington will face undefeated Morgantown on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. for the Class AAA title.
“It would mean a lot,” Dunn-Martin said. “A third title would put the icing on the cake. It means a lot to me and my teammates and hopefully we will get another one.”
Morgantown (26-0), meanwhile, will be going for its first boys basketball title in school history and looking to become the first undefeated boys basketball AAA champion since 1985 when Stonewall Jackson went 26-0.
“They’re a good basketball team,” Hess said of the Mohigans. “They have everything and there’s nothing that they don’t do well.”
Championship Saturday starts off at noon with the Class AA title between Fairmont Senior and Poca, followed by the Class A title at 2:30 p.m. between St. Joe and Wheeling Central.
All three games will have live video streaming at the MetroNews Channel of WVMetroNews.com.