MORGANTOWN – The 2025 Hope Gas Holiday Classic got underway Friday evening inside the Rowdie Center at Morgantown High as the hosting Mohigans battled Shady Spring in Game One of the two-day event.
Eleven different players scored for MHS (3-0) in a 75-40 victory over the Tigers. Senior Marcus Goins and junior Max Frey each scored 15 points to lead the Mohigans. Seniors Waylon Colistra (12) and Camden Kellogg (11) also contributed double-figure scoring.
MHS shot 54% from the field (30/56), with 11 three-pointers and an efficient 19 of 23 inside the arc, while dishing 16 assists on 30 made shots.
Gabe Short led Shady Spring with 14 points, with Eli Sexton and Coby Dillon each adding ten.
“Shady’s a well-coached team who plays hard, and I think we had a few jitters playing our first game at home to start,” MHS head coach Dave Tallman said. “They were prepared for the press tonight, and we fouled a little bit too much, but that’s a great win against a great program.”
The Mohigans led by six after the opening quarter, 16-10, and after two minutes had passed in the second, the lead sat at five, 20-15.
That’s when Goins caught fire from beyond the arc, nailing four triples in the span of three minutes midway through the quarter.
His first pushed the lead to 23-15 at the 5:41 mark of the second quarter. After a stop defensively, Goins hit a second-straight the very next trip down the floor, pushing the lead to 11. Shady answered with a lay-in, but Goins continued his streak with his third three-pointer of the frame (fourth of the game). He added his final triple of the night to pull MHS ahead 32-19. They ended the first half on a 9-0 run.
“It definitely makes me look like a good coach when Marcus is making threes,” Tallman said with a chuckle. “It just makes it easier to run offense when someone is hot like that. He’s been working so hard in the gym and is a lethal shooter when he gets going.”
The Mohigans didn’t look back after the halftime break, outscoring the Tigers 19 to 10 in the third quarter, and 18 to 11 in the fourth to earn their third win of the young season.
“We’ve been playing hard defense these first three games, which is what we want,” Tallman said. “We have to find our way offensively a little bit, but that’s the story with us every season, that stuff takes some time.”
Morgantown will return on Saturday to conclude the Hope Gas Holiday Classic against St. John’s Catholic Prep following University and Shady Spring.
BOX SCORE
Morgantown 75, Shady Spring 40
Shady Spring 10 9 10 11 – 40
Morgantown 16 22 19 18 – 75
Shady Spring (1-1) – Short 6 0-3 14 Dillon 4 0-0 10 Sexton 2 5-7 10 Boggs 1 0-0 2 Lilly 2 0-0 4 Totals: 15 5-10 40
Morgantown (3-0) – Frey 7 0-0 15 Goins 5 0-0 15 W. Colistra 4 4-5 12 Kellogg 4 0-0 11 A. Colistra 3 0-0 7 Henkins 2 0-0 5 Ridgeway 1 0-0 2 B. Colistra 1 0-0 2 Twigg 1 0-0 2 Smalls 1 0-0 2 Sainato 1 0-0 2 Totals 30 4-5 75
3pt goals made: Shady Spring 5 (Short 2 Dillon 2 Sexton 1); Morgantown 11 (Goins 5 Kellogg 3 Henkins 1 Frey 1 A. Colistra 1).
