‘Hard-nosed’ Parkersburg emerges as Class AAA contender

Joey White for WVMetroNews.com

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. – After two straight losses to begin the season, Parkersburg has now found its momentum, hoping that will help carry over into another state tournament run.

The Big Reds opened the year with high expectations, but struggled out of the gate as they lost to other AAA title contenders George Washington (73-69) and Capital (69-54).

“I think they came into the season thinking it was going to be easy,” said Parkersburg head coach Jeff Mennillo. “That was a wake-up call — I don’t think any of them expected to be 0-2.”

Following the early season hiccup, Parkersburg has rebounded to win 13 of its next 15 games, including a revenge win over Capital in mid-January, 67-65, and a victory over defending AAA champion Morgantown in the Big Atlantic Classic, 56-50.

The other two losses have come against Warren (OH), and a second loss George Washington (61-59) late last month.

Parkersburg (13-4) entered this week No. 8 in Class AAA out of the MetroNews Power Index.

“After the first couple games we got our offense going,” said senior standout Karson Snyder. “We gained confidence in our younger guys, and we’re starting to shoot the ball well. So now we’re playing at a pretty high level.”

Snyder, meanwhile, has established himself as a playmaker and one of they key overall leaders for the Big Reds.

“Coach Mennillo has called me the emotional leader a couple times,” said Snyder. “I just try to bring the emotion to the game and get the crowd into it, and I think that’s still what I’m doing this year.”

Nowhere was that more evident than during Parkersburg’s January 19 upset of Capital, as Snyder sunk the game-winning free throws that sent the home crowd into a frenzy.

“Coach Mennillo called a timeout [before the foul shots] and everyone was supporting me,” said Snyder. “I went and hit the first one and the place exploded. It was pretty cool.”

The Big Reds entered this week as the only in-state team to have handed Capital a loss.

Snyder has a taste of the state tournament, playing 12 minutes as just a sophomore in the Big Reds’ heartbreaking quarterfinal loss to Hurricane back in 2015.

“On that team, my role was to guard the other team’s best player and shut him down, and also to spot-up shoot,” said Snyder. “It was a great experience.”

Although there have been a few bumps along the way, coach Mennillo senses something different about this year’s Parkersburg team.

“Our kids are just kind of stubborn,” said Mennillo. “I don’t know that they always play the best basketball or always do the smartest things, but they’re pretty hard-nosed and committed to winning.”

The path to the state tournament is different this year for the Big Reds as re-classification moved Parkersburg from Region 1 to Region 4. Parkersburg is aligned with Parkersburg South and Ripley in sectional play, while the opposing section features Cabell Midland, Huntington, Hurricane, Spring Valley.

“I don’t care where you are, or who you’re playing; there’s no easy path to get to Charleston,” said Mennillo. “Hopefully our kids grow into the team I think they can be, because I think we can be special.”