By Carl Holcomb
Moorefield Examiner
East Hardy Boys Basketball won its third consecutive Class A Region II Championship and first title at home in program history as the Cougars pounced ahead 19-5 in the first period en route to a 53-35 victory over Tygarts Valley in Baker last Wednesday to return to the state tournament in Charleston.
The Cougars had balance scoring with four members in double figures led by Jordan Teets with 15 points, followed by Gideon Good with 14 points, Mason Hamilton with 12 points and Evan Hamilton with 10 points, plus Joseph Price rounding out the scoring with two points.
The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Alex Scott with eight points, followed by Parker Bell with six markers.
“It is pretty incredible.This is a heck of a run we are on right now. This is a great group of kids and a great group of parents. We’ve had some 5:00 a.m. practices and 6:00 a.m. practices, but these kids have just come in and worked their tails off to put themselves in a position to be successful. To see it pay off is something special. You come in here and we cut the nets down in our gym. I have never seen it happen here before, so I am super excited about winning one at home,” East Hardy coach Chris Hahn remarked.
“I thought we had a good game plan and the kids came out and executed it well early. Tygarts Valley made some adjustments and made a run at us.I thought we lost focus a little offensively and perhaps got a little tired. We were able to come back down and never really lose it. We got a couple baskets when we need it and made some adjustments. Our kids made good decisions and we were able to control the game. I thought that was the difference, our guards came out and took control of the tempo and forced Tygarts Valley to do what we wanted versus what they wanted.”
East Hardy commenced the championship on a 7-nil run with the boost of three turnovers forced.
A steal by Mason Hamilton led to a jumper by Jordan Teets, then the Cougars forced a ten second violation prior to a perimeter bucket by Teets and capped off the run with a steal and breakaway layup by Joseph Price at 6:28.
The East Hardy student section was going wild as the Bulldogs called a timeout, then Tygarts Valley stopped the run as Kaden Moore hit a 3-pointer at 6:12, 7-3.
It continued to be noisy as the Cougars roared for a 12-2 advantage closing out the first frame ahead 19-5.
The turnover bug was crawling around with five turnovers in a span of a minute as Tygarts Valley’s Parker Bell stole the ball, then it was swiped back by East Hardy’s Mason Hamilton before being snatched away by Bulldogs center Jacob Wamsley and stolen by East Hardy’s Evan Hamilton prior to a foul and another steal by Evan Hamilton setup a baseline layup from Teets at 5:15, 9-3.
East Hardy’s Gideon Good made the crowd shout with a blocked shot, then Teets collected a defensive rebound.
One could feel the energy emanating from the Baker Den as the Cougars looked to pen the Bulldogs for a state berth.
Teets drilled a 3-pointer as East Hardy took a 12-3 lead at 4:17.
A steal by East Hardy’s Joseph Price was fumbled out of bounds moments later, then Evan Hamilton swiped the ball back and scored a layup for a 14-3 lead at 3:55.
There were a combined five missed shots over the ensuing minute, then a steal by East Hardy’s Gideon Good created an opportunity for Mason Hamilton to knock down a 3-pointer at 2:19.
A steal by Evan Hamilton came up empty at the net, then the Bulldogs collected the carom and Wamsley netted a jumper at 1:27.
The Cougars answered with a layup by Evan Hamilton on the next series to take a 19-5 lead into the second period.
The Bulldogs fought back in the second period scoring the first five points and held an 11-5 edge to slice the deficit to 24-16 at halftime.
Tygarts Valley forced a walk during a trap, then Avery Row-Sponaugle hauled in an offensive rebound and found Wamsley for a jumper at 7:21.
There were eight missed field goals over the following two minutes and change before Row-Sponaugle made a layup at 4:57 for a 19-9 score.
Parker Bell snatched a defensive rebound, Row-Sponaugle drew a foul and added one point on the line for the Bulldogs.
East Hardy’s Gideon Good drew a foul and notched one marker on the line on the next possession.
The Bulldogs came back down the floor with Bell nailing a jumper at 4:06.
The Cougars pounced back with a layup from Teets for a 22-12 lead at 3:53.
The Bulldogs lost the ball trying for a save off a bricked shot, then Moore collected a defensive board.
Evan Hamilton made a steal, but the Cougars missed the next two shots despite rebounds by Aubrey McCullough and Teets.
Moore garnered one foul shot on the next series for the Bulldogs.
Wamsley blocked a shot, then Alex Scott drilled a 3-pointer as Tygarts Valley closed the gap to 22-16 with 1:47 left in the first half.
Good hammered a jumper for the Cougars at 1:07 for a 24-16 halftime advantage.
Evan Hamilton grabbed a defensive carom and drew a foul, then Ian Harris stole the ball in the waning seconds without enough time for a shot to count when launched.
During the opening minute of the third period, East Hardy’s Good (2) and Teets (1) sandwiched free throws around a jumper by Tygarts Valley’s Kendall Armstrong.
Harris nailed a 3-pointer at 6:51 as the Bulldogs chomped the deficit down to 27-21.
Evan Hamilton scored off a steal for the Cougars, then Mason Hamilton swiped the ball and dished to Good for a jumper to boost the lead to 32-21 within 14 seconds at 5:32.
Bell recorded a layup for the Bulldogs on the next series.
Row-Sponaugle stole the ball and made a breakaway layup to close the gap to 32-25 with 3:10 left in the third frame.
Evan Hamilton swiped the ball and netted an old-fashioned three-point play for a 35-25 lead with 2:35 to go.
The Bulldogs lost the ball out of bounds after a bricked shot, then Good hit a jumper.
Scott and Mason Hamilton traded perimeter baskets within nine seconds for a 40-28 score at 1:40.
Scott made a jumper, then Wamsley blocked a shot and fed Bell for a layup to reduce the deficit to 40-32 with a minute remaining.
Good scored on a putback for the Cougars with 36 seconds left for a 42-32 advantage entering the final stanza of the championship.
East Hardy controlled the pace in the fourth period and finished the game on a 9-nil run which included six free throws by Mason Hamilton in the final three minutes and change to seal a 53-34 win and punched a return ticket to Charleston for the third straight year.
The Cougars (19-5) will be the third seed in the Class A state tournament in Charleston and will face No. 6 Clay-Battelle (18-6) in the opening round tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.
Class A Region II co-champion Tucker County earned the No. 2 seed and will play No. 7 Magnolia in the second game.
There is a potential for a Potomac Valley Conference showdown in the state semifinals for East Hardy and Tucker County.
“I started coaching a long time ago. It was always with this vision to get the program playing elite level basketball with kids that play as hard as I try to coach them. The last couple years these kids have bought into the vision of East Hardy Basketball with the tempo and style we play. To see it work is humbling. To watch the kids perform what I personally can’t do. I enjoy watching them come out here and take what I see and put it into practice. These are special kids and you don’t get them very often. The athleticism they have and determination they have and the work ethic that they have. There is a reason they are successful and it’s not given, it’s earned. Those kids are the hardest working kids I have had. That’s why they are successful. They have bragging rights over their fathers and over just about anybody who has played basketball at East Hardy,” Coach Hahn concluded.
