Jason Bauserman
Contributing Writer
There was a lot of excitement at Warrior Coliseum Tuesday night. If you were not there, I hope you listened on the Allegheny Mountain Radio network.
The #3 seed Pendleton County Wildcats visited #2 seed Pocahontas County High School Warriors for a Region 2, Section 2 basketball playoff game.
The teams were evenly matched and the game was nip and tuck to the end. The largest lead for either team was no more than five points.
The Wildcats pounced early with some treys and led at the end of the first quarter 16 – 13.
The Warriors battled back and knotted the score at halftime 27 – 27.
At the end of the third, the Warriors led 48 – 45.
The Warriors had their biggest lead of the game 55 – 49 with three minutes left to play. However, they felt the pressure, had some sloppy turnovers and, with 10 seconds left, sophomore Wildcat Luke Cooper tied the score 58 – 58 with a layup.
During a timeout, coach Tim McClung drew up a play for senior Cary Robertson to crash the lane where he was fouled. With deep concentration, Rob-ertson had made eight straight free throws in the game. His ninth straight won the game for the Warriors, 59 – 58.
With 2.6 seconds on the clock, the Wildcats tried a mid-court shot, which fell short.
Jumping junior Dalton Irvine led the Warriors with 10 goals for 20 points. One of those was a breakaway slam dunk. Irvine also pulled down 11 rebounds for a double-double.
Robertson showed senior leadership with five field goals and nine free throws for 19 points. He scored six of the Warriors’ 11 points in the critical fourth quarter.
Junior Chad Friel came off the bench and had a career high of nine points. J.D. Hensler had three field goals for six points. Senior Adam Irvine netted three points on Senior night, while sophomore Brady Jones muscled up a critical basket in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Trey Cooper was the leading scorer for the Wildcats with 15 points. His first name was appropriate to go with his three treys of the night.
Junior Logan Cooper added 13 points, while Luke Cooper, who tied the game, chipped in eight.
The Moorefield Yellow Jackets narrowly defeated the Warriors, 60 -58, at Petersburg High School March 7 to take the Region 2 Section 2 title.
