There was no better feeling than shouting for joy as the Yellow Jackets finally snapped a 17-game losing streak while knocking their rival East Hardy out of the Class A Region II Section 2 quarterfinals on the road in Baker by a score of 60-51.
Moorefield senior Garett Haggerty flexed on the hardwood as the buzzer sounded and exhaled a shout of jubilation knowing his team will continue to the next round against Paw Paw in the semifinals after erasing the streak.
“It means a lot. Everybody doubted us all year, but not anymore,” Moorefield senior Garett Haggerty remarked.
“We proved ourselves today. We play a tough schedule for a reason. That was so much fun, I had a lot of fun in that game. I don’t want it to end and I don’t think it will.”
Giving a show for the fans, Haggerty blocked nine shots attempts by the Cougars and contributed ten points.
There were four players in double figures for the Yellow Jackets led by Chase Vance with 16 points, followed by Thomas Williams with 14 points, Blake Watts with 13 points and Haggerty (10).
East Hardy (9-12) was in control in the first half, but the Yellow Jackets (4-19) would be resilient in fighting back.
Brett Tharp ended his career with a game-high 20 points in the loss for the Cougars and Aden Funkhouser added a dozen markers.
In the last meeting during the regular season, East Hardy won in overtime after it was forced by the Yellow Jackets.
“All year we have been fighting back and fighting hard. I told them at halftime, you have 16 more minutes to fight, come out shoot the ball, play defense and we will win this game,” Moorefield Coach Scott Stutler commented.
“I did tell you we were going to knock someone off and we did. I’m proud of these guys, they play their hearts out every night. They deserve to win this game. They fought the whole game. Blake Watts played an excellent game offensively and defensively. [Garett] Haggerty had eight blocks and Chase [Vance] had 16 points, Thomas [Williams] hit some big threes and [Brent] Moran did some good things on defense and offense. It was a team effort and our bench was excited. I’m excited to move on and we’re excited to get back to Paw Paw. We felt like we should have beat them last time we were there, so we will be ready to go.”
Starting this playoff game with everybody on the same level with records thrown out the window, it was the Cougars pouncing out to a 10-0 advantage and Moorefield shook off the slow start initially with a 3-pointer and would turn up the heat in the second half erasing a double digit halftime deficit.
After a handful of missed opportunities to begin the game, it was nearly a minute before the first points graced the scoreboard with East Hardy’s Brett Tharp collecting a rebound and scoring.
East Hardy senior Jesse Dove snatched a defensive rebound and passed to Aden Funkhouser for a jumper to extend the lead 4-nil at 6:32.
Tharp swiped the ball and netted a layup, then senior Casey Connelley grabbed a defensive rebound for the Cougars and Tharp finished the possession with a shot over Moorefield’s Blake Watts at 5:37 to go up 8-0 before a timeout was called by the Yellow Jackets.
Connelley snatched another board after the timeout and Funkhouser hit a basket in the paint to create a 10-0 run at 5:06.
Moorefield’s Chase Vance garnered a 3-pointer on the next series to stop the run at 4:43, 10-3.
Free throws didn’t fall for Tharp on the other end and Moorefield’s Lane Ours collected the rebound to make up for the foul committed attempting a block.
However, Tharp stole the ball and missed a field goal with Ours hauling in another board.
Tharp and Watts made defensive rebounds, then the Yellow Jackets lost the ball and Tharp nailed a 3-pointer at 3:27 for a 13-3 advantage.
Funkhouser and Vance made defensive boards, then Brent Moran knocked down a 3-pointer for the Yellow Jackets at 2:54, 13-6.
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A pass from Connelley to Dove setup a jumper by Dove for the Cougars.
Moorefield didn’t back down as Watts drilled a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 15-9 at the 2:01 mark.
Vance collected a rebound and scored on the ensuing possession, 15-11.
Tharp made a rebound and Vance blocked his shot, then Funkhouser found the loose ball and scored to spark another 10-0 run.
East Hardy senior Drew Kelican hauled in a defensive rebound and fed Funkhouser for a jumper to take a 19-11 advantage ending the first period as Moorefield missed the last shot of the frame.
The Yellow Jackets missed two baskets to start this second period with rebounds going to Ours and Tharp, then Cole Swanson passed to Dove for a layup.
Kelican snatched a defensive rebound and Dove dished to Tharp, who leapt up to the rim releasing the ball into the nylon without a dunk for a 23-11 lead at 6:26.
After a timeout, Dove stole the ball and scored on the breakaway at the six minute mark.
The Yellow Jackets stopped the run with a jumper by Haggerty on the following possession at 5:44.
There were a combined seven rim rockers over the next two minutes and change before a jumper by Vance ended the drought at 3:30.
Haggerty grabbed a defensive rebound and scored on the next play to cut the deficit to 25-17.
Tharp and Connelley kept the possession alive with rebounds ending with a putback by Connelley.
A walk was called on the Yellow Jackets, then East Hardy’s Adam Larson lost the ball off his foot out of bounds.
Larson deflected the ball away from Moran and the chase was on with Moran making the recovery, but Funkhouser stepped up for a steal and was going towards the hoop when Haggerty blocked the shot and turned to block another before a timeout.
Vance made an offensive rebound save throwing it off the Cougars out of bounds.
A flurry of action continued as Watts swiped the ball only to lose it our of bounds moments later, then East Hardy was called for a walk, then Moorefield missed two field goal attempts with rebounds by Thomas Williams and Tharp.
Tharp went for another rebound and the ball was knocked loose with Vance and Tharp diving for it with Tharp collecting the ball and passing to Connelley and the last second shot missed as the Cougars carried a 27-17 lead into halftime.
An errant pass by East Hardy went out of bounds at the beginning of the third period, then Williams scorched the net with a 3-pointer for the Yellow Jackets at the 7:29 sparking a rally as the bench leapt up in approval and the crowd noise grew.
Moran snatched a defensive rebound and Haggerty nailed a putback to cut the deficit to 27-22 at the 7:01 mark.
Vance played tight defense on the baseline against Funkhouser, who lost his balance and jumped with the ball throwing it off of Vance to retain possession.
Dove collected a rebound and Haggerty denied the next shot attempt.
Connelley made a defensive rebound which led to a missed layup by Kelican with the ball going out.
Dove, Haggerty and Tharp alternated rebounds on defense, then Tharp netted a jumper at 5:11.
Haggerty forced the Cougars defense to collapse in the paint and alertly dished to Williams in the corner for a 3-pointer as the bench went wild again with the score now at 29-25.
After a timeout, Haggerty took a defensive rebound and attempted a shot down the floor that hit the rim and Tharp corralled the ball.
Vance made a steal leading to a basket by Moran at 3:58 to create a one possession game, 29-27.
East Hardy walked, then Kelican swiped the ball with a pass to Larson, who was fouled and added one free throw making it 30-27 at 3:11.
A putback by Haggerty lifted the Yellow Jackets to within one point with 2:54 remaining in the frame.
Tharp didn’t connect at the free throw line and a rebound by Funkhouser turned into a walk.
Williams was open to knock down a lead changing 3-pointer with 2:04 to go.
Funkhouser collected a rebound and began to lift the ball up as Haggerty went for a block, but was assessed a foul with Funkhouser netting both shots at the line to tie the contest at 32-all.
The Yellow Jackets buzzed down the floor for the next two baskets in the final minute and change to garner a 36-32 edge entering the fourth quarter as Haggerty and Vance scored.
Vance deflected a pass which was corralled by Ours for the turnover, but the next shot went out off of the Cougars and Tharp swatted the final pass of the third period.
Tharp snatched a defensive rebound to begin the final stanza, then Larson drove to the basket crashing into Moran as the shot went up and into the net which was waved off after a technical was called on Larson trying to pry his foot away from Moran on the floor with a stare down deemed too aggressive.
Vance hit one of the technical free throws and the rebound attempt ricocheted off the hands of Tharp, then Swanson made a rebound.
Tharp tracked down an errant shot and made a baseline save back out to Kelican.
Larson did a pump fake and drove inside the paint where Moran committed a foul and both free throws were made.
An ally-oop from Haggerty to Watts amazed the crowd with the catch and release scoring as the Yellow Jackets took a 39-34 lead with 6:49 remaining.
A minute later, Vance netted a putback to extend the Moorefield advantage.
“We did our typical come out in the third quarter and forget how to play basketball,” East Hardy Coach Chris Hahn stated.
“This team has struggled in the third quarter a lot this year. We put a lot of energy out there, but we just didn’t come out in the second half expecting a battle, I guess. Our effort wasn’t there in the third period. We had a ten point lead and went down six at the end of the third quarter. You just can’t do that, we aren’t a good enough team to play down 16 points to a team in a quarter. That’s what we did and then you’re battling the rest of the fourth quarter trying to get back. The last time we did that here, we came out on top. This time they did it and came out on top. It was two teams that are very similar and don’t let their record fool you. They were as good as any other team in the PVC this year, but couldn’t find a way to win earlier in the season. That’s the thing about the postseason, everybody goes back to zero. I think we lost focus and when you do that, everybody is playing better. When you lose focus, shots don’t fall and you don’t run your offense as crisp. You lose a guy on defense and end up going home earlier than you should have.”
The Cougars hit the iron and the referee didn’t move out of the path of two Cougars seeking to make a save on the baseline and the ball bounced away.
East Hardy applied full-court pressure after a timeout, but the Yellow Jackets surpassed it and missed the basket with Kelican collecting the board.
Watts made a defensive rebound and the ensuing attempt was off the mark with Tharp grabbing the board prior to being fouled and adding both charity stripe buckets.
Kelican defended closely on the full-court pressure forcing a walk, then East Hardy’s Andrew Tharp hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 41-all with 4:30 remaining.
Brett Tharp deflected the ball out of bounds on a dive crashing beside the bench, then Watts scored on the following possession to regain the edge.
Tharp collided with a defender as Watts collected the rebound, then Tharp shook it off and made an interception leading to an old-fashioned three-play as the Cougars took the lead with 3:45 to go, 44-43.
After a timeout, Moorefield broke the press and Watts completed added a basket plus the harm to swap the lead again, 46-44.
Tharp grabbed a rebound and was going up with the ball, but met resistance by Vance forcing a jump ball situation.
The Cougars lost the ball and Vance scored on a layup for a 48-44 lead with 2:52 left.
Tharp hit a jumper on the next series, then the Yellow Jackets responded with a putback from Watts at 2:28, 50-46.
Kelican drilled a 3-pointer as East Hardy met the two minute warning trailing by one point, 50-49.
A timeout was called and the Cougars pressure was neutralized on a foul by Tharp, but Vance missed both shots at the line and the ball deflected out off of Tharp.
Moorefield had to burn a timeout as the pressure nearly caused a five-second violation, then Williams released an energetic 3-pointer for a 53-49 lead.
Funkhouser scored in the paint on the following possession for the Cougars at 1:38.
Tharp snatched a rebound after Watts made the first of two free throw attempts, but the drive to the basket was negated as Watts drew a charge on Tharp.
Vance had the ball knocked out dribbling in front of the East Hardy bench, then the next pass was caught by Watts and Tharp tackled him for the foul.
Vance scored on a layup and Haggerty blocked the Cougars as the Yellow Jackets were buzzing with excitement with a 56-51 lead just under a minute left.
It looked like Watts would have an easy layup, but East Hardy’s Andrew Tharp came from behind for a block.
Brett Tharp deflected a pass out of bounds and Kelican chased down Williams for a foul to stop the clock with 36 seconds remaining, then Williams knocked down both free throws for a 58-51 advantage as the bench and fans went crazy.
The clock was running as East Hardy rolled the ball to midcourt, then the referees added three more seconds to the time (:39).
East Hardy missed two attempts with Tharp and Haggerty collecting the boards as Haggerty was fouled with 27 seconds to go, but failed to connect and Tharp snatched the board.
A shot attempt by Andrew Tharp bounced off the rim and on top of the backboard.
Dove and Brett Tharp deflected passes out of bounds during the pressure, then Funkhouser fouled Moran with 17 seconds left.
Moran hit both free throws and grabbed a huge defensive rebound to seal the victory for the Yellow Jackets 60-51 and passed to Williams to run the clock out in Baker.
Moorefield advances to the semifinals at Paw Paw on Thursday. The Pirates won the previous meeting by a score of 65-60 and the Yellow Jackets are looking for payback with a berth in the championship on the line to be held in Petersburg on Saturday.
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