Mohigans’ thrilling win was an instant Christmas classic

THE MORGANTOWN HIGH basketball fans who packed the Rowdy Center to watch No. 5 MHS’s scintillating 67-56 double-overtime victory against No. 1 Wheeling Park, on Thursday night, no doubt left the building with one thought in mind:
When is the rematch?
As a public service, we’ll save them the trouble of searching for a schedule: MHS travels to Wheeling Park, on Feb. 7.
Be there.
It should be something to watch.
March is a long way off, but Thursday’s game sure had the feel of a state-tournament game.
It had clutch baskets, critical free throws and standout defensive plays from both teams. It was wild, and it was crazy.
Heck, even Santa Claus got thrown out of the gym.
It seems that Jolly Old St. Nick did something naughty, not nice, to distract a Wheeling Park player who was shooting the second of two free throws in the second quarter.
The player received a second attempt — he missed again — and Santa earned a trip back onto Wilson Avenue, where he could reunite with his reindeer and prepare for Saturday night.
“I could have killed him,” MHS coach Tom Yester said later.
Too bad Santa missed the rest of the game, which included an MHS rally from a six-point deficit late in the fourth quarter.
Santa can take solace in the realization that these teams could play four more times this season. They’ll meet in Wheeling and could clash in the OVAC tournament, the sectionals and possibly the state tournament.
A state championship meeting wouldn’t be so bad, huh?
Some wondered whether the young Mohigans could hang with a Wheeling Park team that returned three starters from this past season’s state runner-up team. MHS lost a chunk of its scoring from this past season but was eager to test itself against No. 1.
The Mohigans’ win may lead to some arched eyebrows around the state this morning, but MHS’s players aren’t stunned. They were prepared to win Thursday night.
“I don’t think anybody doubted it from the minute we left the locker room before the game started,” forward Dean Marshall said.
Here’s the thing: MHS won despite its star forward, Nathan Adrian, being held to 10 points. Adrian’s supporting cast came up huge. Nick Colasante poured in 22 points. Marshall added 20 points and Jeff Leftridge 10.
Any notion of the Mohigans being a one-player team was destroyed in Thursday’s victory.
“You just have to realize — and Nathan knows it as well — when he’s not on, he doesn’t have to do it all,” said Marshall, who has played with Adrian since the third grade. “We’re here for him. It’s great to be able to take up the slack.”
Not that Adrian was invisible against Wheeling Park.
Far from it. He didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, but he pulled down 17 rebounds. His tipin in the final seconds of regulation on Colasante’s intentionally missed free throw sent the game into overtime.
The great players don’t pout when things don’t go their way on the court. If they’re not hitting shots, they’re hitting the boards with reckless abandon. They play defense, too.
Adrian did all of that in helping MHS spring the upset. In the end, that was all that was important — getting the win.
“He didn’t get his normal points, but that’s OK,” Yester said. “He’ll have some nights when he gets a whole bunch. ... I’m just happy for the kids. This means a lot to them. This kind of proves to ourselves that our early demise may be overestimated. I think is team is going to be all right.”
TODD MURRAY is a sports reporter for The Dominion Post. Write to him at columns@dominionpost.com.

TODD MURRAY