East Hardy Boys Basketball scorched the nets hitting a dozen perimeter shots and unleashed a relentless defensive attack to deliver a pounding on the Tygarts Valley Bulldogs 87-61 during the West Virginia Hometown Invitational Tournament last Saturday in Baker.
“We played a really tough schedule and to get somebody back on our level, it is good to see how that tough schedule pays off. Page County was just tremendous and we turn around play Tygarts Valley, no disrespect to Tygarts Valley, but they aren’t as talented top to bottom as Page County. For us to be able to play that up-style and not make turnovers tonight was huge for us. We did a really good job of not turning the ball over and taking time to find the open man. Earlier in the season we were getting deep into traffic and not kicking it to the open guy. I am proud of how unselfish we were tonight, because we took good shots after a good pass. We worked hard in practice and it is good to see it pay off. To play in front of our home crowd is great,” East Hardy Boys Basketball coach Chris Hahn commented.
“I love playing in the West Virginia Hometown Invitational Tournament. It is a lot of travel, but the problem with single A schools is we are all in the middle of nowhere. If you are going to play in a single A tournament, you are going to play in the middle of nowhere. We are going five hours to Buffalo next Saturday. When you agree to play in a tournament like this, it is what you take on. I am super proud of the HIT Tournament. It has done a tremendous job spotlighting our single A student-athletes. This tournament does a great job of showcasing our athletes and we get to play in different gyms around the state.”
Tygarts Valley took the opening tip-off and the ball was stolen by Justin Teets for the Cougars moments before a jump ball and Bulldogs foul.
The scoring started with a jumper by East Hardy’s Andrew Tharp off an assist from Christian Dove, then Seth Smith stole the ball and Dove nailed a 3-pointer for a 5-nil lead at the 7:03 mark.
Dove swiped the ball before being called for a walk, then Tharp snatched a defensive rebound prior to a scramble for a loose ball with Teets diving and corralling the ball on the floor redirecting it to Dawson Price for a jumper in the paint at the 6:25 mark.[private]
Tygarts Valley’s Ben Taylor made a field goal on the ensuing possession.
Price drew a foul and went to the free throw line making both shots for a 9-2 Cougars advantage at 5:46.
Price and Taylor collected defensive rebounds, then Logan George scored for the Bulldogs at 5:18.
East Hardy answered with a basket from Price off an assist from Smith at 5:02 to go up 11-4.
George hauled in an offensive board and put the ball back into the hoop for Tygarts Valley.
There were a couple of turnovers and a missed shot in both directions before East Hardy’s Brayden Ritchie assisted Teets on a 3-pointer in the corner at 3:21 for a 17-6 score.
Two more errant attempts, then Tygarts Valley’s Josh Bright made a layup.
East Hardy’s Adam Baker located Teets open for his third trifecta in a span of a minute at the 2:39 mark creating a 20-8 lead with the Bulldogs coach shouting to his players to guard him.
One minute later, Tygarts Valley’s Cole Arbogast netted an old-fashioned three-point play.
In the final minute and change of the first period there were a combined five turnovers which didn’t result in points.
Bryce Tharp added a free throw for the Cougars with 19 seconds left and Bright garnered a 3-pointer for the Bulldogs with four seconds remaining as East Hardy held a 21-14 edge.
After two missed East Hardy shots to begin the second period, Taylor hit a jumper for the Bulldogs.
The Cougars pounced back into rhythm as Dove assisted Smith on a perimeter basket, then Andrew Tharp snatched a defensive carom and made a behind the back pass to Dove drilling a 3-pointer for a 27-16 advantage en route to a 14-nil run.
Teets grabbed a defensive rebound and dished to Dove for a layup and the Cougars forced a turnover resulting in a jumper by Price to extend the lead 31-16 at the 5:31 mark.
Dove stole the ball and assisted Bryce Tharp on a basket, then Teets swiped the ball and found Dove for a score giving East Hardy a 35-16 lead with 4:36 left in the first half.
A block turned into a foul sending George to the free throw line for two shots as the Bulldogs three minute drought ended.
Over the next minute, Ritchie netted a cutback and Dove sank a 3-pointer for the Cougars.
George collected two rebounds before being fouled and made one of two free throws, then Teets grabbed the next rebound for East Hardy and passed to Baker for a jumper.
Dove made a steal and Ritchie knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Cougars a 45-19 lead at the 2:46 mark.
East Hardy carried a 49-23 advantage into the locker rooms at halftime as Baker added a field goal plus a free throw and Price notched one free throw at the buzzer.
After a free throw by the Bulldogs, East Hardy’s Justin Teets garnered a 3-pointer at the 7:42 mark of the third period.
Tygarts Valley scored inside on a shot by Bright, but the Cougars answered with a bucket from Tharp for a 54-26 score one minute into the second half.
The Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run over the next two minutes with field goals by Taylor, Willie Waldon, George and two free throws by Bright with two of the field goals coming off turnovers created by Waldon and Taylor.
East Hardy responded with seven straight points in a span of two minutes as Bryce Tharp made a putback, stole the ball prior to completing an old-fashioned three-point play and Dove netted a layup for a 61-34 lead at the 2:31 mark.
Arbogast scored on a putback for Tygarts Valley on the ensuing possession and the Cougars answered with a jumper by Bryce Tharp.
Adam Baker grabbed a rebound off a missed Bulldogs free throw and passed to Dove, who connected for a 3-pointer at the 1:36 mark for a 30-point advantage, 66-36.
Dove and Bryce Tharp made steals, but the Cougars fumbled the ball out of bounds both times.
A layup by Dove with 12 seconds left in the third period extending the East Hardy lead to 68-36.
One positive note for Tygarts Valley was winning the fourth period by a 25-19 margin, but the Cougars marched forward to an 87-61 victory,
In the opening minute and change of the fourth period, East Hardy’s Adam Baker netted a pair of jumpers coming off steals and assists by Andrew Tharp and Dove meanwhile sandwiching a 3-pointer by Teets off an assist from Price for a 75-37 score at 6:38.
Teets knocked down his sixth 3-pointer with 3:01 remaining in the game to give the Cougars an 87-49 advantage.
The Bulldogs finished the game scoring the last dozen markers including six points by Liam Depp.
East Hardy was led in scoring by Dove with 22 points (four 3’s), followed by Teets with 18 points (six 3’s), Price with 14 points and Bryce Tharp with ten markers.
Tygarts Valley was paced by George with 15 points, followed by Taylor with 11 points, Bright and Depp added ten apiece.[/private]
In JV action, East Hardy edged the Bulldogs by a score of 65-62 with Noah Lang guiding the Cougars with 19 points, followed by Riley Mongold with 13 points and Brayden Ritchie with a dozen markers.