CHARLESTON, W.Va. — As far as first impressions go, Wayne could’ve hardly made a better one.
The Class AA No. 5 Pioneers dominated the second quarter of Tuesday’s state quarterfinal against No. 4 Doddridge County, and hardly looked back, while never trailing in a resounding 72-48 victory at the Charleston Coliseum.
“Every practice since the regional, they’ve been loose,” Wayne coach Sean Meddings said. “I tried to tell them it’s just another game and even tried to pull the part from Hoosiers, where they’re measuring the rims and showing the three-point and foul lines are still the same.”
WHS (16-9) prolonged its first state tournament showing at least one more game and awaits the winner of Wheeling Central Catholic-Frankfort in a Friday semifinal.
The Pioneers got off to a solid start and led 13-10 through one quarter, before seizing complete control of the matchup in the second period.
With Wayne on top 16-14 less than 1 minute into the second, Landon Preece made a three-pointer for the start of 12-0 spurt that allowed the Pioneers to lead by double figures the rest of the way.
The rest of that run featured six points from Colton Heck and another Preece triple.
Landon Preece and Colton Reece combined for the last seven points of the first half to stake Wayne to a 37-18 halftime lead.
At halftime, Landon Preece had two more points than the Bulldogs.
“Landon Preece is probably the best player in the state that nobody has heard of,” Meddings said.
Heston Hayes accounted for the first field goal of the second half, but the Bulldogs (19-5) would get no closer than 17 the rest of the way.
A 9-0 Wayne run early in the third upped what had been a 40-22 lead to 27 points, with Landon Preece and Colton Preece combining for all of the point production during that stretch.
The Pioneers went to the fourth with a 63-39 lead and were never threatened over the final period.
“It’s tough to be up here after you don’t give your best performance. Part of that was on us and we didn’t execute,” Bulldogs’ coach Paul Burnside said. “The other part is Wayne made it difficult on us to do what we wanted to do.”
MetroNews broadcast interview with Wayne head coach Sean Meddings on the program’s first state tournament win, a 72-48 victory over Doddridge County in the Class AA quarterfinals: #wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/oyo8iZ2QcE
— Joe Brocato (@joebrowvm) March 17, 2026
After making 15-of-34 shots in the first half, Wayne was nearly 52 percent (15 for 29) from the field in the second half.
Landon Preece made 11-of-13 shots, 4-of-5 threes and led all players with 29 points.
“I was nervous being the first team coming to states,” Preece said. “I put up some shots, started hitting, so I kept shooting.”
Heck added 21 points on 10-for-16 shooting to go with five assists. Colton Preece scored 10 and point guard Carter Ross contributed nine points and seven assists without a turnover.
“It helps having the best point guard in the state of West Virginia,” Meddings said of Ross, “and that’s what we have.”
Wayne shot 25 for 43 on two-pointers and had 18 assists with eight turnovers.
“I preach to love one another, share the basketball and try to have at least 15 assists a game,” Meddings said. “If we have 12 assists, we usually win. Anywhere above 15, we’re playing well.”
Hayes led DCHS with 12 points. The Bulldogs had a 29-2 advantage in bench points, but shot 19 for 62 as a team.
“When you’re getting punched and it feels like every counter punch you try to throw is unsuccessful, it gets pretty defeating,” Burnside said. “Anybody that’s been around athletics, and especially basketball knows it’s easier to play with a lot more energy when the ball is going through the hoop.”