MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — University and Morgantown will likely cross paths a few more times this winter as the Hawks defend their Class AAA state championship and the Mohigans look to compete for the title.
On Friday night at MHS, round one went to ‘The U’.
University survived a defensive battle and a seesaw fourth quarter to hand the Mohigans their first loss of the season, 49-46.
“We wanted to take advantage of getting some baskets in transition,” said University head coach Joe Schmidle. “That all stemmed really from some defense. We got our hands on a couple loose balls and got a little momentum. We saw the ball go through the basket a couple times.”
Senior guard Kaden Metheny became University’s all-time leading scorer with ninety seconds left in the game. His driving layup not only allowed Metheny to pass 2018 graduate Ethan Ridgeway with 1,647 points, it also gave the Hawks a 45-43 lead in a back-and-forth final quarter.
“He is just a special kid,” Schmidle said about Metheny. “He is probably the best player I ever coached. There couldn’t be anybody more deserving than he is just because of how hard he works.”
Metheny scored 15 points but the Hawks needed some more late heroics to earn the victory. Trailing by two points with one minute left, Morgantown’s Alex Rudy buried a 3-pointer to give Morgantown a 46-45 lead.
On University’s next possession, K.J. McClurg cut to the hoop and scored off a feed from Kyle Smith. That basket gave the Hawks a lead they would not relinquish. McClurg led all scorers with 23 points.
Rudy and Carson Poffenberger led Morgantown (6-1) with twelve points each.
“Coach (Dave) Tallman and I talk about it all the time. It is just another game. To us it is just another game. To the community it is a lot different.”
University improved to 8-2 after going 2-2 at the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach earlier this week. The Hawks have played five games in a span of eight days.
“You are playing one of the top teams in the country everyday there with very little time to prepare,” Schmidle said. “It is as much mentally exhausting as it is physically exhausting.”