The Yellow Jackets had some deja vu having defeated Pocahontas County by 30 points to begin the season on the road and created the same margin of victory over the Warriors in the Hive last Wednesday by a score of 66-36.
“It was nice to see our guys step up. Yosef Malaki played a great game and Trevor Shoemaker played a good game. They did a great job coming off the bench. Our main guys weren’t on tonight, so it was good to see others contribute,” Moorefield Boys Basketball coach Scott Stutler remarked.
Moorefield Boys Basketball started the game on a 14-0 run grabbing a 21-3 lead entering the second period with the middle two quarters about even before finishing with a 20-6 final stanza.
Pocahontas County walked after taking the opening tip-off, then the Yellow Jackets let the clock wind down passing the ball around.
The initial shot missed, but Moorefield’s Jaydon See tipped the ball over to Lane Ours, who corralled it and made the jumper at the 6:39 mark.
After the Warriors lost the ball, Kolton Alderman stole the ball back and hit the rim with Brody Buzzard grabbing the board and fumbling it out of play.
Pocahontas County’s Dalton Hendrick made a defensive rebound, then Moorefield’s Trevor Shoemaker swiped the ball leading to a missed shot with a rebound by Ours passing to Shoemaker for the basket at the 4:49 mark creating a 4-0 lead.
Both teams had errant attempts before Moorefield’s Brent Moran made a steal and netted a layup at the 4:04 mark.
Moorefield’s Chase Vance made a steal and was fouled with the ball going into the hoop, but missed the free throw and See snatched [private]the rebound going back up to complete an old-fashioned three-point play during a foul as the Yellow Jackets boosted the advantage to 11-nil with 3:48 left in the frame.
Pocahontas County’s Jamie Vandevender grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled, then the Warriors coughed up the ball out of bounds.
Moran fed Yosef Malaki for a 3-pointer giving Moorefield a 14-0 lead at the 3:07 mark.
Vandevender collected another offensive board and found Dakin Rexrode open for a 3-pointer at the 2:23 mark as the Warriors finally got on the scoreboard, 14-3.
In the final minute and change of the first period, the Yellow Jackets scored seven points to close the frame as See netted two free throws, Malaki nailed a trifecta and Shoemaker beat the buzzer on an inbound play for a 21-3 score.
Malaki garnered a jumper off an assist from Shoemaker to begin the second period at 7:38.
Pocahontas County’s Kolton Alderman netted a basket after a jump ball.
The Yellow Jackets scored four more points in a span of 17 seconds as Shoemaker made a putback, then Coleman Mongold swiped the ball and scored on a layup, 27-5.
Alderman was fouled on a rebound attempt and made one of two shots.
Shoemaker grabbed the rebound and Moran assisted Lane Ours on a 3-pointer at the 6:11 mark as Moorefield built a 30-6 lead.
One minute later, a steal by Shoemaker resulted in a breakaway layup for the Yellow Jackets.
Over the next minute, Pocahontas County notched five points as Buzzard hit a 3-pointer and Alderman made a jumper to make it 32-11.
Moorefield missed four field goals in a span of two minutes, while the Warriors missed once and committed a turnover.
Buzzard knocked down a 3-pointer for the Warriors at the 1:41 mark to cut the deficit to 32-14.
After a turnover on both sides, Moorefield’s Ryan McGregor scored on a jumper off an assist from Vance.
Cash Keating added a field goal for Pocahontas County as the Yellow Jackets maintained a 34-16 advantage entering the locker rooms.
The Warriors opened the third period with a 9-nil run in a span of three minutes with four points from Alderman, two points by Buzzard and Rexrode hit a 3-pointer, while the Yellow Jackets hit the rim five times.
Shoemaker made a steal and scored for Moorefield at the 4:20 mark to make it 36-24.
Another steal was created by Shoemaker with the ensuing attempt hitting the rim, but Moran was trailing on the play grabbing the board to score on the putback.
A 3-pointer by Rexrode helped the Warriors cut the Moorefield lead down to 40-28 with three minutes remaining in the third period.
However, the Yellow Jackets boosted the advantage on a pair of 3-pointers coming in a span of 19 seconds as Ours knocked down a perimeter shot and Mongold made a steal setting up a trey by Malaki for a 46-28 score at the 2:24 mark.
Pocahontas County answered with a jumper by Hendrick on the next series.
Both teams had some missed shots and turnovers over the last couple of minutes with Moorefield’s Addison Barb adding one free throw with two seconds left, 47-30.
Starting the fourth period, Moorefield scored the first seven points as Shoemaker netted a putback at 7:15, Mongold made a steal and added two free throws at 6:46 and Malaki stole the ball to setup a 3-pointer by Ryan McGregor at 5:31 for a 54-30 lead.
Another steal by Malaki didn’t result in points, then Pocahontas County’s Hendrick garnered a 3-pointer to stop the run at 4:58.
Mongold and Vance added a pair of free throws each under a minute for the Yellow Jackets sandwiching a jumper by Alderman.
Shoemaker collected a defensive carom and Barb drilled a 3-pointer with 2:51 remaining.
Moorefield’s Blake Funk forced a walk and caused the Warriors to be upset, then Barb hit one of two free throws during a technical foul call.
Barb made a steal and did an amazing crossover move down the lane for a basket with 1:32 left as the Yellow Jackets went up 64-35.
The Warriors added a free throw in the final minute and Moorefield’s Levi Thompson scored off an assist from Barb for the final score of 66-36.
Shoemaker scored a game-high 14 points for Moorefield, followed by Malaki with 11 points.
The Warriors were paced by Alderman with 11 points.
In JV action, the Yellow Jackets defeated Pocahontas County 55-21.
Moorefield was led by Ryan McGregor with 12 points and Blake Funk added ten markers, but the most exciting highlight was a dunk by Thompson.[/private]