RUNNER, MOHIGANS muzzle WVU recruit Macon. Page 5-B.
RESULTS OF OTHER games in the Shootout. Page 5-B.
They weren’t supposed to win. Facing a Marion-Franklin (Columbus, Ohio) team stocked with Divison I talent, they weren’t even supposed to have much of a chance.
But, as host of the PrimeTime Shootout — a tournament designed to showcase talent from across the country — it was the Morgantown High boys’ basketball team that showed off its star power Friday, in a 70-68 upset win.
“Everyone at school was saying, ‘Are you guys ready to get beat? You ready to get beat?’ ” MHS senior Sam Runner said. “I guess we surprised our own students.”
The MHS student weren’t the only ones surprised by the Mohigans victory.
“You prepare to win, then you see how it plays out,” MHS head coach Tom Yester said. “This just shows that we can beat a team with superior ability. Honestly, if this was a high jump or 100-yard dash, we’d lose.”
Runner and fellow senior Jordan Barnett earned co-MVP honors in the game.
Runner had 19 points and six rebounds. Thirteen of his points came in the second half, including the game-winning layup, with two seconds remaining.
The layup came just seconds after Marion-Franklin tied the game on a layup of its own.
MHS wasted no time inbounding the ball and threw a long pass to Runner, who was all alone.
Morgantown was in control for most of the game. But with MHS holding an eight-point lead with 3:44 left, the Red Devils rallied, hitting two late 3-pointers.
The Mohigans kept their cool, something Yester stressed before game time.
“The last word I wrote on the board [before the game] was ‘poise,’ ” Yester said. “I think you saw some of that come out in the final minutes when they started to trap us. Then when they made those late 3s, we didn’t panic.”
“It definitely came down to that,” Runner said. “We were poised. They came back and we stayed calm.”
Helping the Mohigans stay calm early was Barnett, who scored 19 of his career-high 28 points in the first half.
“They have sensational shooters, the best we’ve seen,” Franklin-Marion head coach Orlando McCoy said. “That No. 21 [Barnett] of theirs, he’s great.”
Barnett went 6-of-8 from 3-point range, making five in the first half.
“It was weird,” he said. “Everyone was chest-bumping me and telling me to smile, but I couldn’t. I was in the zone.”
MHS senior Ryan Parsons also was in an early zone as he hit two first-quarter 3s and scored 10 points.
“We shot a great percentage today,” Yester said. “Barnett and Parsons really got us going with the 3s.”
The Mohigans also were helped by a dominant performance inside. They outrebounded Marion-Franklin, 28-19, and scored 15 points on putbacks.
“We rebounded very well against a very quick, very good jumping team,” Yester said. “Sam [Runner] and [junior Taylor] Price both did particularly well with that. We knew we had to be good inside.”
Price finished with six points and eight rebounds.
Now that it’s over, the Mohigans aren’t spending time celebrating their win. Instead, they’re looking forward.
“It was a big win, but [today] against Fairmont Senior is bigger because it’s a conference game,” Barnett said. “Beating a team with [Division I] guys is nice, but playing against Fairmont Senior, we’re going to have to play even harder.”
MARION FRANKLIN (9-3)
Macon 2 2-4 6, Spears 4 0-0 8, McGaughy 8 4-5 26, McCoy 6 0-0 12, Brown 2 0-0 5, Reed 1 0-0 2, Youngblood 1 0-0 3, Jackson 2 0-0 6. Totals 26 6-9 68.
MORGANTOWN (6-2)
Runner 8 3-4 19, Price 3 0-1 6, Parsons 4 0-1 10, Barnett 11 0-0 28, Berryhill 0 3-6 3, Colombo 1 0-1 2, Lusk 0 0-0 0, Blemmings 0 0-0 0, Keffer 1 0-0 2, Meador 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 6-13 70.
Marion Franklin 16 20 13 19 — 68 Morgantown 20 19 17 14 — 70
3-pointgoals: Marion Franklin 10 (McGaughy 6, Jackson 2, Youngblood, Reed). Morgantown 8 (Barnett 6, Parsons 2).
