A stop sign needed to be placed in the lane to reduce the chaotic traffic flowing inside the Hive, but East Hardy navigated through the swarm of Yellow Jackets to control the boards en route to a 73-64 victory over Moorefield last Friday on senior night.
“I told our guys coming in that Moorefield it doesn’t matter what their record is, we always battle each other really hard. We knew we were going to take their best shot and we did. They came out and played really well. I thought our kids did a really good job of matching intensity and matching the physicality that Moorefield likes to play with in games,” East Hardy coach Chris Hahn remarked.
“We were able to take advantage of that with our size a little bit, because they are a little smaller this year than normal. Due to that we were able to bang inside and wear them down.”
Moorefield seniors Ben Pyles, Ben O’Neill, Blake Watts and Grant Keller were honored prior to the game.
The East Hardy duo of Aden Funkhouser and Adam Baker recorded double-doubles against the Yellow Jackets with Funkhouser netting a game-high 20 points with a dozen rebounds and Baker contributed 15 points with ten caroms helping the Cougars to collect 40 boards overall compared to 35 by the Yellow Jackets.
“It has been like this all year, score by committee. It can be somebody different each year. They don’t care who scores the points, they just want to win. Aden Funkhouser is our go-to guy and he’s averaging 17-18 per game. He is biggest and strongest guy on the floor for us and he is a handful. He is super athletic. I am super proud of how these guys have come along this year. We weren’t ready at the beginning of the year. We are playing great team ball. It is a fun group to coach and I am really proud to have coached these guys. Every win is special and the kids have embraced that Moorefield is their rival, so they get up more for the game. Moorefield has a really nice team and they will be a tough out. Whoever draws them in the playoffs will have a battle,” Coach Hahn commented.
The Cougars (10-9) led as many as 15 points in the third period, but Moorefield (4-14) didn’t let the game stretch any further with perimeter range attacks closing the gap.
The opening tip-off went out of bounds with the Yellow Jackets taking the first possession, but the initial field goal attempt hit the rim and East Hardy’s Adam Baker snatched the rebound.
The Cougars had their first attempt go awry, but Baker collected the rebound and scored at the 7:05 mark for the 2-nil lead.
A trap was set by East Hardy and a jump ball was created for the Cougars, but the ensuing shot was off the iron and Moorefield’s Ben Pyles made the rebound.
Moorefield lost the ball out of play with Baker and Funkhouser forcing the errant pass.
Moorefield’s Brent Moran and Pyles deflected passes out of bounds, but the Cougars regrouped and Funkhouser nailed a jumper at 5:19, 4-0.
A miss by the Yellow Jackets was tipped out to Moorefield’s Ben O’Neill, who connected with Moran heading into the paint for a layup at 4:44.
East Hardy responded with a 3-pointer by Chance Dove on the next series within nine seconds.
O’Neill made a jumper for the Yellow Jackets at the 4:21 mark to cut the deficit to 7-4.
Over the next minute and change both teams missed a couple of baskets with rebounds going to Moorefield’s Chase Vance and Pyles (2), while East Hardy’s Dove and Baker collected one apiece.
After the last miss during that stretch with the rebound to Pyles, the play was setup for Vance scoring on a layup at the 3:12 mark, 7-6.
East Hardy’s Cole Swanson hit a jumper and drew a foul with the extra shot going awry, then Andrew Tharp snatched the board.
Moorefield’s Matthew Jenkins made a defensive rebound, then Moran was tangled up with East Hardy’s Seth Smith with a timeout called.
The Cougars pressed and set a trap forcing Moorefield into a walk.
Funkhouser scored on the following possession in the paint with a foul drawn and the extra shot was off the mark with Jenkins hauling in the board.
Tharp collected a defensive rebound, then Funkhouser drew another foul and made both free throws at the 2:04 mark for a 13-6 Cougars advantage.
After a handful of missed shots over the next minute, East Hardy’s Rob McNeal netted a jumper with 20 seconds left on the clock.
Moorefield missed twice with a rebound by Jenkins and the latter shot attempt’s ricochet went off of the Cougars with under one second left and inbound passer Lane Ours connected with Jaydon See for a buzzer-beater jumper to make it 15-8 entering the second period.
“The difference in the game was they out-rebounded us and got to the foul line more than us. I thought we came out a little sluggish. They were really physical which gave us problems,” Moorefield coach Scott Stutler stated.
“We have them two or three shots at a time and in a game like this you can’t do that. They did a good job of being physical and getting extra shots.”
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Funkhouser forced a turnover with Baker collecting the ricochet to kick off the second period for East Hardy.
East Hardy’s Adam Larson grabbed an offensive rebound, then Moorefield’s Chase Vance blocked his shot.
Baker scored moments later at the 7:26 mark for the Cougars.
Tharp swiped the ball, but was called for a charge going to the hoop which caused a surprised look.
Swanson collected a defensive rebound, then Funkhouser and Baker kept the possession alive before Swanson knocked down a 3-pointer to put East Hardy up 20-8 at the 6:05 mark.
Jenkins hit a jumper on the next series at 5:52 for the first Yellow Jackets basket of the frame.
Vance made a defensive rebound and was fouled, then the Cougars pressed and it was broken by the Yellow Jackets leading to a missed field goal with a rebound by Swanson.
Swanson scored on a putback to gain a 22-10 advantage.
Moorefield’s Thomas Williams drilled a 3-pointer at the 4:42 mark.
Baker grabbed an offensive rebound and contact was made sending him to the foul line for two charity shots scored.
Moran was fouled driving to the hoop and made one of two free throws.
O’Neill collected a defensive rebound, then Moran assisted Williams on a 3-pointer at 3:51 to cut the deficit to 24-17.
Funkhouser netted a putback on the ensuing East Hardy possession.
Swanson and O’Neill made defensive rebounds, then Williams nailed a trifecta at the 3:02 mark as the score was now 26-20.
After a timeout, East Hardy answered with an old-fashioned three-point play by Funkhouser.
Vance garnered a rebound for the Yellow Jackets and scored the basket with the harm added in the process, but hit the rim on the free throw with a rebound going to Chance Dove.
Baker made a rebound, but the Cougars didn’t connect again and Moran pulled down the next board.
Baker blocked a shot, then Christian Dove knocked the ball loose from Moran with a whistle for a foul.
Moran netted the pair of free throws at the 2:11 mark as Moorefield sliced the deficit to 29-24.
A steal by Moran and a trap by the Cougars turned into a foul and the free throw was missed with Vance hauling in the rebound and a pass out to Moran for a jumper just inside the perimeter.
Moran stole the ball, but the layup was off the rim and Swanson took the ball passing to Chance Dove for a 3-pointer as East Hardy went up 32-26 with a minute left and the score remained the same at halftime despite a few turnovers in the final minute.
Both teams missed a field goal to start the third period with rebounds going to O’Neill and Baker defensively.
Baker knocked down a 3-pointer for the Cougars at the 7:13 mark to crate a 35-26 advantage.
Baker collected another defensive rebound, then Funkhouser grabbed an offensive rebound and drew a foul and hit the rim on the foul shot attempts with Chance Dove finding the carom.
Jenkins notched a defensive rebound, then Williams stumbled on a drive into the paint and was fouled during the sequence.
Jenkins drew a shooting foul and hit iron on both attempts, then East Hardy’s Chance Dove made a rebound.
Baker was fouled after garnering a rebound and going back up which created two free throws made.
See hauled in two offensive rebounds, then Swanson blocked the next attempt and Larson found the rebound on the third Moorefield miss and was called for a charge down the floor.
Baker fouled Williams, who hit both free throws as the Yellow Jackets chipped away at the East Hardy lead for a 37-28 score at the 5:23 mark.
Over the next two minutes, the Cougars scored six straight points on a pair of free throws by Larson, then a jumper by Christian Dove after a jump ball and a steal by Tharp led to a layup from Chance Dove.
Baker swatted a pass with the ricochet going to Christian Dove for a Moorefield turnover, then Funkhouser drew a foul and missed the free throws.
Moorefield’s Thomas Williams sank a 3-pointer at the 3:18 mark for a 43-31 difference.
After a walk by Dove, Williams drilled another trifecta and kept his hand up as he stared down Chance Dove at 2:57 with the Yellow Jackets trailing 43-34.
Tharp hit the floor hard during a layup on the next Cougars possession and received attention before getting ice on the sidelines.
A high pass was saved by Vance with a toss over to Williams for a jumper, then Jenkins stole the ball leading to an old-fashioned three-point play to create a two-possession game with a 45-39 score with 2:02 left in the third period.
In the final two minutes of the frame, Baker netted two field goals around a jumper by Vance before Baker blocked a shot in the waning moments as the score stood at 49-41 entering the fourth period.
The Yellow Jackets missed four consecutive baskets to start the final stanza with rebounds by Jenkins, Vance and Ours, then the Cougars missed once with Ours taking the carom.
Vance lost control of the ball as Swanson snatched the turnover leading to a pair of free throws made by Funkhouser at 7:04.
Nine seconds later, Moran was on the charity stripe making two markers.
Funkhouser grabbed an offensive rebound and Vance blocked the ensuing shot forcing a jump ball.
East Hardy’s Christian Dove started near the top of the key and spotted Funkhouser along the baseline, then made a laser pass for the assist.
Funkhouser collected a defensive rebound, then Baker assisted Christian Dove on a 3-pointer at the 6:06 mark as the Cougars went up 56-43.
On the next possession, Moorefield’s Chase Vance knocked down a trey to bring the score down to a ten-point spread again.
The Yellow Jackets applied pressure forcing a timeout on a trap, then Christian Dove broke free and found Swanson for an East Hardy basket.
Moran answered with a jumper in the paint for Moorefield at the 5:19 mark, 58-48.
East Hardy’s Funkhouser and Larson sandwiched jump shots around a Moorefield 3-pointer from Ours for a 62-51 score with 4:45 remaining.
Jenkins made an offensive rebound and Funkhouser stole the ball, but it was taken back by Vance leading to a charge.
Funkhouser garnered an offensive rebound and drew contact to create two free throws.
Pyles tried to make a leaping save off a missed basket, but to no avail.
Swanson was fouled and added one free throw for the Cougars with 3:49 to go.
Vance netted a layup on the next Yellow Jackets series.
Funkhouser scored on a putback as East Hardy push the lead to 67-53 with 3:23 left.
Chance Dove stole the ball, but the Cougars coughed it up out of bounds.
Williams made a save off a missed shot with the pass going to Pyles with the return assist for a 3-pointer by Williams getting the crowd excited.
Larson hit a jumper and had the harm tacked on, but the free throw hit the rim.
Funkhouser made a defensive rebound, then Ours stole the ball and the Yellow Jackets missed two field goals with possession kept alive by Williams and Ours before Vance drilled a 3-pointer with 1:51 on the clock as East Hardy held a 69-59 lead,
Vance deflected a pass and the ball was fumbled off the fingertips of an East Hardy player, then Vance scored inside the paint and drew a foul which went awry at 1:28 for a 69-61 score.
The Cougars passed the ball around before a foul was committed sending Chance Dove to the free throw line and both shots hit the rim with a rebound by Jenkins.
Chance Dove stole the ball and was fouled, but missed the charity shots again with 38 seconds to go.
Swanson stood still as Vance came crashing into the paint creating an old-fashioned three-point play with 32 seconds left and a two-possession game now at 69-64.
East Hardy’s Christian Dove was fouled with 24 seconds to go and added one free throw to the score, then Moorefield missed a perimeter attempt and Funkhouser hauled in the board.
Funkhouser was fouled and netted one of two free throws with 13 seconds on the clock.
Christian Dove snatched a defensive carom and was sent to the free throw line, then made both attempts for the 73-64 final score as the Yellow Jackets launched a long distance shot at the buzzer which was off the mark.
After the top scoring by Funkhouser (20) and Baker (15), the Cougars received 13-point efforts from Christian Dove and Swanson.
Moorefield was led by Williams with 19 points, followed by Moran with 17 and Vance with 16 markers.
In JV action, East Hardy edged the Yellow Jackets in overtime by a score of 58-56.
East Hardy was led by Christian Dove with 22 points and Moorefield was led by Coleman Mongold with 15 points.
Moorefield visited Southern Garrett on Tuesday and hosts Berkeley Springs for the regular season finale tomorrow with playoffs starting next week.
East Hardy visited Berkeley Springs on Tuesday and hosts Mountain View Christian Academy for the regular season finale tomorrow.
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