The Pocahontas County High School Warriors defeated Richwood, 68-58, in the championship game of the Webster County Holiday Tournament in Upper Glade on Saturday night. The Warriors defeated AA Nicholas County, 68-59, in the first round on Friday night.
PCHS senior Cary Robertson and junior J.D. Hensler were named to the All-Tournament team. Robertson was named the Tournament MVP.
Both tournament opponents were formidable foes. The class AA Grizzlies put up a tough fight in the preliminary round on Friday night. The Warriors led all the way against Nicholas, but the tenacious Grizzlies kept it close and narrowed the gap to three points several times throughout the exciting game.
With five strong seniors and four juniors, there was talk of a talented Richwood team having an undefeated season this year. The Lumberjacks came into the championship game with a respectable 3-1 
record. Warrior speed and skill were more than up to the challenge of the hard-charging Lumberjacks.
The Warriors improved their record to 4-2 with the two wins.
Following the tournament victory, Warriors Head Coach Tim McClung said his team is still improving.
“We did some things right and we did some things that we need to correct,” said the coach. “We played in spurts again. We have yet to put a whole game together. We got both victories and that was very important. I thought at times we played really, really well. And then at times we didn’t execute like we should have. The team is definitely still growing.”
The Van Bulldogs visit Warrior Coliseum on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. to challenge the surging Warriors. McClung said Van is fully capable of upsetting his Pocahontas squad.
“They improved some last year,” he said. “Actually, they got us down at their place. We went down there, we were on a six-game winning streak and fooled around and let them beat us. So, we need to try and do a little bit better job this year. I think it will be a good game. It’s a game that we should be very competitive in and hopefully come out with a victory.”
Tipoff for the Warriors versus Van is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Warrior Coliseum. The Lady Warriors will host the Lady Bulldogs in the early tilt at 1 p.m.
Warriors vs. Nicholas County scoring: Rider, 18; D. Irvine, 17; Hensler, 17; Robertson, 10; Mick, 7; A. Irvine, 6; Friel, 3. See pocahontastimes.com for full tournament stats when they are available.
