MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Three-time Class AAAA defending state champion Morgantown has been the state’s top program for several seasons in large part thanks to its defense.
With several fresh faces and largely a new cast of characters, the Mohigans aren’t quite up to speed yet offensively, forcing them to rely heavily on that defense in the early stages of this season.
In Saturday’s matchup against Washington as part of the Little General Classic at MHS, that recipe was plenty good enough to generate the Mohigans’ 50th consecutive home win.
Morgantown held the Patriots to 13 field goals and dominated the rebounding battle to cruise to a 67-38 victory.
“We were a little flat, so I had to get a little fired up and get us going,” said MHS head coach Dave Tallman, who was assessed a technical foul in the opening quarter. “We’re not playing that great offensively. That’s on me. We’re not executing anything yet. But defensively, even when we make mistakes, we’re flying around and helping the helper and we really have each other’s backs, so that’s good to see.”
Washington (2-1) hung tough for the entirety of the opening quarter and led 10-8 after an Averie Brown three-pointer, before consecutive layups from Brady Savage and Waylon Colistra allowed the Mohigans (4-0) to lead by two points entering the second period.
MHS took control of the contest in the second, which it began with seven straight points, including a Collin Ridgway three-pointer for a 19-10 lead.
Max Frey’s triple moments later made it 22-12, and Mohigans’ guard Marty Johnson accounted for a personal 5-0 run moments later that made it 29-14.
A Savage stickback late in the half made it 33-18 and marked the start of a 9-1 spurt to close the half, enabling MHS to lead 40-19 at the break.
Six Morgantown players went to halftime with at least two field goals, while the Patriots were 6 of 22 from the field at that point.
“We have guys that run,” Tallman said, “and we like to reward them for that.”
Morgantown guard Demarcus Bandy scored nine third-quarter points, including seven over the final 2 minutes of the frame to help the home team up its advantage to 58-29 through three quarters.
“Fifty in a row, and the schedule we play, it’s not against cupcakes,” Tallman said. “We’ve beat some really good teams. It speaks volumes to the players we’ve had and the parents and coaching staff and our preparation. We’ve made it a really tough place to play.”
Bandy finished with a game-high 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting. He added six rebounds and five assists.
“He’s such a smart kid and the sky is the limit,” Tallman said. “He’s getting better and better and learning how to do things. He’s been really impressive and he’s another dog out there on the defensive end for us, too.”
Savage scored 13 points to go with a game-high nine boards, helping the Mohigans finish with a 41-23 advantage on the boards.
Colistra added 10 points.
Kris Doleman and Jasiah King scored nine points apiece to pace the Patriots in defeat.
“They play the right way,” Tallman said of Washington. “They run good action, so it was a good test. We had to have a heck of a defensive game plan going into and our guys executed it pretty well.”