— By Taylor Kennedy
NEW MARTINSVILLE, W.Va. — St. Marys continued its unbeaten start to the season by moving to 6-0 Thursday with a 54-37 victory over sectional foe Magnolia.
The victory was the fifth time St. Marys has won by double figures. The Blue Devils are holding their opponents to an average of 46 points per game.
“Magnolia has skilled players,” St. Marys head coach Mark Barnhart said. “They are a handful. They are a good ball club. We knew it was going to be a dog fight, and it was.”
Magnolia’s 37 points marked the fourth time this season that St. Marys has held its opponent to 45 points or less. Barnhart was impressed with how well his squad competed defensively.
“I thought it was a team effort,” Barnhart stated. “Luke Powell got some fouls, and the other guys stepped up. I thought the kids played well. I thought Tyler Wilson, especially, played well defensively by fronting the post and hedging on the dribble hand-off.”
Blue Devils’ guard Grant Barnhart, who averages 25 points this season, was in control throughout the evening. Barnhart finished with 28 points, including 16 first-half points.
“I felt like he took what they gave him,” stated coach Barnhart, Grant’s father. “I thought what he got was because of how they were playing him defensively.”
Grant Barnhart didn’t see much different than what’s transpired in previous games.
“It was not anything different,” Grant noted. “I have great teammates that get me open shots and good looks to score.”
SMHS senior guard Waylon Moore provided a defensive spark to ignite his team in another strong effort.
“He is our garbage man,” Grant Barnhart said. “He is like our Dennis Rodman. He does everything that a basic basketball player typically does not want to do, including grabbing rebounds, playing defense, and guarding anyone. We love him.”
Coach Barnhart gave Moore the responsibility of guarding Magnolia’s leading scorer — Trevor Willamson. Williamson averaged 16 points per game coming in, but was held to 10 points.
“His number one job was to pressure a great player on the other team,” coach Barnhart said. “I thought Waylon did that. I also thought Brandon Lawhon and Tyler Wilson stepped up defensively.”
Lawhon recorded 11 points, including nine first-half points. Powell finished the game with 10 points.
“It is a long way to go,” Grant Barnhart said. “One game at a time.”
Magnolia was led by sophomore forward Hayden Pyles’ with 11 points.