ELLENBORO, W.Va. - Parkersburg Catholic put on a clinic on how to execute a box-and-one defense against St. Marys.
Gilmer County put on a scoring clinic in the third quarter against Williamstown, but needed surgery to repair what was once a 13-point, fourth-quarter lead and survived in overtime.
After the semifinal games from Tuesday's Class A, Region I, Section 2 were all said and done, it was Gilmer County earning the right to meet fourth-ranked Parkersburg Catholic in the championship game. Game time on Friday is set for 7 p.m. again at Ritchie County High School.
"This is what happens when you coach 15 to 18 year olds," Gilmer County coach Steve Shuff said following his Titans' 63-59 win against the Yellowjackets.
Parkersburg Catholic 54, St. Marys 36
St. Marys never got on track shooting the ball and converted just 25 percent (15-of-59) from the floor while being held to its lowest offensive output of the season.
The Crusaders - more specifically David Garvin with one-on-one coverage- keyed in on K.D. Arnett and the Blue Devil junior managed just six points.
St. Marys had its share of good looks inside, but the presence of PCHS 6-foot-8 senior Nick Fisher created havoc and caused more altered shots than not. Fisher finished with nine points and four blocks, and added a one-handed slam early in the fourth quarter just for good measure.
"We have a bunch of nicknames for Fisher," said PCHS senior John Padden, who finished with a game-high 18 points to go with nine rebounds and three assists. "We call him Skywalker, Eighth Wonder of the World and Stretch. With him you can gamble a lot. You can go for steals because it's like having a force field around the basket."
St. Marys trailed 16-15 before PCHS outscored the Blue Devils 12-0 over the next six minutes. Once the Crusader advantage reached 16 at 35-19 midway in the third quarter, PCHS pulled out into its spread offense.
The Blue Devils managed to pull within 39-27 on consecutive steals by Garrett Wichterman and Derek Renner, but Fisher's one-handed dunk with just over six minutes left in regulation slammed the door shut.
Daniel Collie contributed 10 points and three assists for the 18-5 Crusaders, while Brett Wright paced St. Marys (13-10) with eight points and 15 rebounds.
Gilmer County 63, Williamstown 59 (OT)
Frank Hosey's three-point play the old-fashioned way broke a 56-56 tie late in overtime and gave Gilmer County a lead it would never relinquish. The Titans secured the victory by hitting all five of their free throws in the final 1:09 of the extra session.
Terrell Hill, Anthony Aviles and Austin Cunningham each scored 10 points for the 16-8 Titans, who scored more points in the third quarter than they did the entire first half.
Gilmer County trailed 29-25 at halftime before outscoring Williamstown 26-10 in the third quarter. In those eight minutes, the Titans made 11-of-14 shots from the floor, including four 3-pointers.
"Bottom line, in that third quarter we hit some shots," Shuff said. "In the fourth quarter, Williamstown started making big-time plays."
Down 52-39, junior Case Edgar carried Williamstown (13-11) on his shoulders and scored nine of his 17 points as the Yellowjackets evened the contest at 56 with 38 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Both sides had their share of opportunities to win in regulation, including a turnaround from Hill which clanked off the rim just as time expired.
Williamstown senior Lane Knost knocked down three 3-pointers and led all scorers with 19 points, while classmate Cory Metz added 12 points.
"Our kids have battled all year," Williamstown coach Scott Sauro said. "In countless games, they've been in a hole but clawed, scratched and fought back."
Class A, Region I, Section 2
Semifinals
At Ritchie County High School
Parkersburg Catholic 54,
St. Marys 36
St. Marys 6 9 8 13 36
PCHS 11 13 13 17 54
ST. MARYS (13-10)
Brandon Mathews 1-6 0-0 2,Derek Renner 2-8 0-0 5, Garrett Wichterman 2-11 0-0 4, Brett Wright 4-12 0-2 8, K.D. Arnett 2-8 1-2 6, Justin Nichols 1-2 1-2 3, Derek Bayless 0-4 0-0 0, Andrew Cosper 1-6 0-0 3, Kyle Lancaster 0-0 0-0 0, Grant DeLancey 2-2 0-0 5, Asa Nichols 0-0 0-0 0, Dillon Renner 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 15-59 2-6 36. 3-point goals: Derek Renner 1, Arnett 1, Cosper 1, DeLancey 1
PARKERSBURG CATHOLIC (18-5)
John Padden 6-9 3-4 18, Daniel Collie 4-8 2-4 10, David Garvin 1-3 1-2 4, Zack Romine 0-2 1-2 1, Nick Fisher 2-5 5-6 9, Eric Scott 2-4 0-0 4, Sean Rafferty 2-4 0-0 4, Mitch Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Payton Sturm 0-0 4-6 4, Tony Allowatt 0-0 0-0 0, Michael Migliore 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 17-35 16-24 54. 3-point goals: Padden 3, Garvin 1
Rebounds: SM 37 (Wright 15); PCHS 32 (Padden 9). Assists: SM 8 (Wichterman 2); PCHS 12 (Padden 3, Collie 3). Steals: SM 6 (Derek Renner 2, Wichterman 2); PCHS 5 (Fisher 2). Turnovers: SM 8, PCHS 8.
Gilmer County 63,
Williamstown 59 (OT)
Williamstown 11 18 10 17 3 - 59
Gilmer County 15 10 26 5 7 - 63
WILLIAMSTOWN (13-11)
Cory Metz 5-13 2-3 12, Michael Badgley 1-5 1-3 3, Brian Reynolds 2-6 0-0 5, Case Edgar 7-16 2-6 17, Lane Knost 8-11 0-0 19, Alex Marchetti 1-2 0-0 3, Ben Amos 0-1 0-0 0, Chase Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Josh DeBolt 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 24-54 5-11 59. 3-point goals: Knost 3, Edgar 1, Reynolds 1, Marchetti 1
GILMER COUNTY (16-8)
Ian Morris 3-9 1-2 9, Terrell Hill 5-7 0-1 10, Cam Kinder 3-7 1-3 9, Anthony Aviles 3-7 4-4 10, Joel Roberts 4-8 0-0 8, Frank Hosey 2-5 3-3 7, Sam Dennison 0-1 0-0 0, Austin Cunningham 4-5 2-2 10. TOTALS 24-49 11-15 63. 3-point goals: Morris 2, Kinder 2
Rebounds: Williamstown 32 (Metz 11); Gilmer 32 (Hill 10). Assists: Williamstown 15 (Badgley 9); Gilmer 9 (Roberts 4). Steals: Williamstown 5 (Edgar 2, Knost 2); Gilmer 3 (Roberts 2). Turnovers: Williamstown 12, Gilmer 11.
Next game: Sectional championship at Ritchie County High School - Gilmer County vs. Parkersburg Catholic, 7 p.m. Friday
