MORGANTOWN – After a 68-66 overtime victory against Parkersburg South last week, Morgantown boys basketball head coach Dave Tallman was still searching for some of his players to step up when they were needed most.
He didn’t need to search too hard on Friday night on Baker’s Ridge as the MHS junior duo of Colin Ridgeway and Max Frey poured in 41 of the Mohigans’ 65 points against University High to remain unbeaten.
Frey led the way with a game-high 23 points, shooting 8 of 14 from the field with five three-pointers. Ridgeway was perfect from downtown, nailing all four of his attempts from deep. He also added four assists and four steals for MHS (9-0).
“It’s always a tough battle out here,” Tallman said. “I’ve watched University live a ton this year, and that’s the best I think I’ve seen them play. They’re competitive kids and were never going to lay down. But in the last five minutes, we went back to the old Morgantown high-pressure defense, made them force some things, and it worked out for us. I am really proud of the effort from our guys tonight.”
UHS (9-3) didn’t go down without a fight. MHS grew a 13-point lead (41-28) in the third quarter, but the Hawks ended the frame on an 18-7 run over the final five minutes to cut the deficit to two entering the fourth.
The Mohigans wrote the complete opposite story in the final quarter, allowing only three points from UHS in the final five minutes of the contest and outscoring their opponents 17 to 9 in the frame.
“We had a couple of chances to take the lead after being down 13, and I liked how we responded out of that timeout,” UHS head coach Joe Schmidle said. “The three-ball hurt us, and they made some huge shots at the right moments. We didn’t have an answer for Max (Frey); he’s a strong, physical player. Plus, when my two best players are in foul trouble early, it doesn’t help either.”
Junior Luke Byrer led UHS with 13 points on limited minutes due to foul trouble. UHS saw at least five points from every player who touched the floor. Junior Kyle Weaver impacted the game on both ends for UHS, finishing with five points, five rebounds, and four assists.
As Schmidle pointed out, the Hawks didn’t help themselves from downtown, shooting 3 for 13 from deep. They were 19 of 31 from inside the arc.
After a lay-in by UHS senior Jack Byrer tied the game at 48 to begin the fourth quarter, Frey and Ridgeway each made a pair of free throws to swell the lead back to two possessions.
Weaver and Frey traded baskets, then a jumper from senior Eli Karpinski pulled the Hawks back within two, 54-52.
Frey hit his fourth triple to swell the lead back to four after a UHS free throw, and sophomore Arlo Colistra followed with a jumper from the elbow (59-53).
After UHS came up empty on offense, Frey hit the dagger with his fifth three-pointer of the night, giving MHS a 62-53 lead with 90 seconds to play.
Frey, who hadn’t played his best in the last few games for MHS, stepped up when his team needed him most against their rivals in a huge moment.
“I’ve been in a little slump recently, but our game Saturday (Aliquippa) got me turned back around,” Frey said. “We were fired up for this game, and I think our confidence was where it needed to be as a team.”
It won’t be long before the next matchup in the rivalry, as the Hawks will travel to Wilson Avenue on February 3 for the second of two regular-season matchups with MHS.
BOX SCORE
Morgantown 65, University 55
MHS 13 19 16 17 – 65
UHS 15 12 19 9 – 55
Morgantown (9-0) – M. Frey 8 2-4 23 Ridgeway 5 3-6 18 W. Colistra 4 2-3 11 S. Frey 2 1-2 5 A. Colistra 1 1-2 3 Kellogg 1 0-0 3 Henkins 1 0-0 2 Twigg 1 0-0 2
University (9-3) – L. Byrer 5 2-2 13 Barnes 4 0-0 9 Brown 3 2-3 8 Karpinski 3 1-2 7 J. Byrer 3 0-1 6 Lewis 2 1-2 5 Weaver 2 0-0 5
3pt goals made: Morgantown 11 (M. Frey 5 Ridgeway 4 Kellogg 1 W. Colistra 1); University 3 (L. Byrer 1 Weaver 1 Barnes 1).
