CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Washington coach Ryan Miller is a firm believer his team can and will shoot the ball better from the perimeter than what transpired Thursday night in a Class AAAA quarterfinal against Parkersburg South.
But Miller’s team was plenty good enough in several other aspects, most notably fast break points, paint points and rebounding, and withstood a late charge from PSHS to earn a 65-58 victory at the Charleston Coliseum.
“We talk about weathering the storm and a lot and we had to weather a storm tonight,” Miller said. “We got the game uptempo, which is what we want to do and when we play like that, we can play with anybody in the state.”
No. 4 WHS (19-3) secured a spot in a state semifinal Friday against top seed George Washington.
MetroNews broadcast interview with Washington’s Ryan Miller after their 65-58 win over Parkersburg South in the Class AAAA quarterfinals: #wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/Wd3Mz7nYw2
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Washington led 47-39 through three quarters and by seven with inside 6 minutes remaining before No. 5 Parkersburg South put a scare into the Eastern Panhandle Athletic Conference member.
Taj Joyce made a setback jumper and Harry Silvis a three-pointer 59 seconds later that brought PSHS to within two.
“Every game, no matter the score, we always fight,” Silvis said. “We’ve done that all year. The biggest factor for us this year has almost been controlling our emotions.”
Despite Washington making its first state tournament showing in 12 years, it played like a seasoned group that had been in plenty of pressure-packed situations previously.
Chet Gore’s two free throws moved the lead to four, and after Jasiah King rebounded a Silvis miss, the guard went coast-to-coast for what became a conventional three-point play that allowed his team to lead by seven with 3:31 remaining.
“We’re battle-tested and it paid off tonight,” Miller said.
Altogether, Washington wound up with eight straight points to up its advantage to 10 with 2 minutes left, and South got no closer than seven the rest of the way.
“It’s a game of runs. We told them there was going to be runs both teams made,” PSHS coach Mike Fallon said. “We told them at halftime whoever makes the last run is going to win and that’s what happened. Give a lot of credit to them.”
The matchup was tied at 12 through one quarter and PSHS was in front 23-18 halfway through the second quarter after a Cam Fallon triple.
Washington countered with 12 straight points to go in front for good.
Averie Brown hit his team’s lone three on 12 attempts to begin that spurt, while Kris Doleman gave WHS a one-point lead with a conventional three-point play 2:29 before halftime.
After Gore made two free throws, Cameron Shedrick scored in the paint and King followed suit, leaving Washington with a seven-point lead before Silvis made a floater for the final points of the half.
“The spurt right before the half got us. We took some long shots and they got some runouts,” coach Fallon said.
Doleman (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Gore (15 and 13) both recorded double-doubles.
“When I have these guys boxing out, I can go in there and snag it,” Doleman said.
King added 16 points in the win, which saw Washington finish with distinct advantages in rebounding (49-40), paint points (38-26) and fast break points (20-10).
“Those three guys are really good in the paint and they don’t let people get them out of the paint” Miller said. “To do it against Parkersburg South says a lot. We don’t know who’s going to shoot well in this gym. The only person in our program who has played here is me and it was 16 years ago. To not settle the way we did and to continue to stay in attack mode was big.”
Joyce and Silvis were South’s top two scorers with 17 and 15, respectively.
Joyce played fewer than 4 first-half minutes after being whistled for two fouls in the first quarter.
PSHS was without center Matt Mullen, who missed the regional matchup as well as a result of an injury suffered late in the season.
“It’s frustrating as can be. It’s like you let the whole community down,” coach Fallon said. “Every year, it just seems like it’s a revolving door for our program. You fight like crazy to get here, but when you get here, it’s over like that. I really don’t have an answer for you. The one common denominator in all of it is me.”