By Carl Holcomb
Moorefield Examiner
East Hardy targeted 20 perimeter shots to oust the Warriors in a 92-39 shellacking in Baker last Tuesday.
Jordan Teets netted eight 3-pointers for a game-high 29 points for the Cougars, followed by Evan Hamilton with 20 points including six shots from beyond the arc, while Dideon Good notched 12 points with one trifecta, Mason Hamilton garnered 11 points with three perimeter baskets and Brayden Gregory added two treys for eight points.
Pocahontas County was led by Dillon Dunz with nine points as the Cougars defense kept the Warriors in single digits.
This was the second most team perimeter scoring for the Cougars program (23).
“We saw their scores against Tygarts Valley and they played Tygarts Valley tough. We thought if they are playing better basketball, then we better be ready for them when they come here. I thought defensively, we came out prepared and put a lot of pressure on them. We were able to turn some good defense into easy offense. We started to play with some tempo. We are used to guys guarding us hard, but when they were sagging off of us that is when we took advantage of it. We started to shoot the ball with confidence. Anytime you can get consistent outside and have Gideon and Joseph on the inside rebounding, it definitely lets those perimeter shooters have the confidence to let it fly with those rebounders. As good as our rebounding is, a nice soft miss is a good as a pass in there,” East Hardy coach Chris Hahn commented.
The Cougars pounced for a 36-5 lead in the first stanza en route to a 56-10 halftime advantage with 10 3-pointers.
East Hardy’s Gideon Good opened the game with two rebounds and the latter resulted in an old-fashioned three-point play at 7:37 for the initial 3-nil lead and sparked an 11-0 run.
Jordan Teets stole the ball and nailed a 3-pointer for the Cougars off an assist from Evan Hamilton.
The Cougars forced another turnover and Mason Hamilton knocked down a perimeter bucket for a 9-0 lead at 6:53 with an assist from Evan Hamilton.
Evan Hamilton stole the ball and dished to Mason Hamilton for a layup to cap off the 11-0 run.
Pocahontas County ended the run with a jumper by Trenton Brock at 5:55.
Teets drilled a trifecta on the ensuing series, then Evan Hamilton swiped the ball and passed to Good, who drew a foul and added both shots on the line for a 16-2 lead at 5:07.
Good blocked a field goal attempt by the Warriors and moments later Evan Hamilton sank a 3-pointer.
East Hardy forced a jump ball and Mason Hamilton hit a trey for a 22-2 lead at 3:51.
Pocahontas County’s Dunz notched a basket in the paint to stop the momentum momentarily at 3:30.
The Cougars punted back with a 14-1 run to close out the first period.
Evan Hamilton made three straight steals resulting in 3-pointers by Teets and Mason Hamilton and a breakaway layup for a 30-4 lead with 2:16 left in the opening frame.
Gregory added a 3-pointer for the Cougars with 36 seconds left in the first period.
After a free throw by the Warriors, East Hardy finished the period with an old-fashioned three-point play by Teets to make it 36-5.
East Hardy opened the second period with an 11-0 run covering five minutes as the Warriors committed three turnovers and hit the rim four times.
Gregory got the run started with a layup then Good sandwiched two jumpers around a layup by Teets and Evan Hamilton capped it off with a 3-pointer at 3:03.
Cash Beers netted two free throws for the Warriors on the next series.
The Cougars added 3-pointers thrice in the last two minutes and change of the first half by Teets (2) and Evan Hamilton, while Pocahontas County’s Cash Beers added one perimeter bucket with East Hardy holding a 56-10 halftime advantage.
The Warriors showed some perimeter magic in the third period with four shots by Luke Taylor (2), Devon Burgess and Matt McQuain.
East Hardy would garner 3-pointers thrice in the third frame by Good, Teets and Mason Hamilton en route to a 65-30 lead entering the final stanza.
The Cougars kept firing from downtown in the fourth period with perimeter buckets by Teets (2), Evan Hamilton (2) and Gregory while Trevor Roof and Joseph Price scored twice in the paint for a final score of 92-39.
In JV action, East Hardy defeated the Warriors 65-46 with Trevor Roof leading the Cougars with a game-high 21 points.
This was the fourth straight win for East Hardy, just coming off a big 70-49 road victory over the Vikings in Petersburg to even the season series with Evan Hamilton pouring in 26 points with seven 3-pointers.
