Parkersburg Catholic’s Carter Nelson (3) goes airborne to the basket during Tuesday’s game in Parkersburg Catholic. Nelson scored a team-high 12 points in the Crusaders’ 70-50 defeat. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

PARKERSBURG – Within a span of a week, Ritchie County junior Isaac Hodges has put up some elevated numbers.

Last Thursday in the opening round of the St. Marys High School Invitational Tournament, he scored a career-high 37 points then two days later surpassed 1,000 points for his high school career.

On Tuesday night, Parkersburg Catholic suffered a similar fate Ritchie County opponents have been dealing with throughout the season as Hodges finished with a double-double consisting of 36 points and 13 rebounds in the Rebels’ 70-50 victory.

“I give credit to my coaches and teammates – they are putting me in positions to help the team out,” Hodges said. “I’m scoring, passing the ball – doing whatever I can to help the team out.”

With a date upcoming against unbeaten and No. 5 ranked Doddridge County on Thursday, Ritchie improved to 7-5. PCHS suffered its seventh straight loss and slipped to 3-10.

Parkersburg Catholic’s Preston Randolph (10) applies defensive pressure on Ritchie County’s Isaac Hodges (14) during Tuesday’s game in Parkersburg. Hodges scored a game-high 36 points as the Rebels won, 70-50. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Playing without their leading scorer Leonardo DeAngelo, several of his teammates picked up the coring slack as three Crusaders scored in double figures. Carter Nelson knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with 12 points, while Branson Lott and Preston Randolph both tossed in 11 points.

“Our schedule’s been brutal,” PCHS coach Jim McLean said. “We have had several Class AA teams on the schedule. The good news is in the end and it’s going to pay off for us, hopefully, because we play a lot of regional teams coming up.

“Hopefully, our schedule will help prepare us for the postseason.”

PCHS struggled from the field, especially in the first half – shooting just 32% (8-of-25) while falling behind 35-22 by intermission. Unlike several games earlier this season, the Crusaders flipped the script in the rebounding differential getting to the glass more frequently.

“There’s been several games we lost by five or six points and gotten outrebounded by 20,” McLean said. “And when you play a kid like Isaac Hodges, he is going to get more rebounds. But you have to cut that deficit. Tonight, I thought we did a really good job of at least putting in the effort to go challenge that.

Ritchie County’s Rhett Johnson (0) and Parkersburg Catholic’s Leo Haid (11) bump into one another during Tuesday’s game in Parkersburg. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“By playing zone, Ritchie killed us from time to time getting second chances, but overall I thought the rebounding effort was there.”

The Rebels built a 9-0 lead less than two minutes into the game and never trailed. Midway into the first quarter, PCHS switched to a zone and for a while the change-up on the fly kept the Crusades close.

Nelson’s two 3-pointers on consecutive trips downcourt followed by another three from Jayden Walker closed the deficit to six at 25-19 with three-plus minutes remaining in the second quarter.

Anytime PCHS managed a surge, Ritchie answered. The final two-minutes going into the break, the Rebels reeled off an 8-1 run behind a pair of buckets from Hodges and Garrett Flesher.

PCHS started the second half on the right footing when Landon Edwards’s three brought the difference to 10 at 37-27.

Again, Ritchie struck quick with a 9-0 run in the matter of a minute and a half. Four different Rebels contributed in the scoring column as the lead grew to 46-27.

“You look at Ritchie’s runs and combined they lasted about 90 seconds,” McLean said. “Other than that, we competed with them really well for about 30 minutes.”

Providing a supporting role for Ritchie by the end of the game were Seth Cronin with 11 points, and Rhett Johnson and Flesher both with eight points.

“I wouldn’t say it it was all of us who adjusted to their zone – it was our point guard Rhett Johnson,” Ritchie coach Kenny Church, who played his high school basketball at PCHS. “He sees the defense, he calls the plays and does exactly what we need him to do from a leadership standpoint as our point guard.”

Hodges’ final points came off a spin move in the lane at the 2:10 mark of the fourth quarter. Moments later, he took a seat with other members of the starting lineup.

“Of course, Isaac is a great player – he puts the work in,” Church said. “I tell all my guys, you are going to get what you put into thus game. And that’s what Isaac does. Every day he has a ball in his hands. He quit playing football to concentrate more on basketball. He’s quit running track so he can concentrate on basketball.

“It’s just perfect to have a guy like that leading by example. He’s seeing those double teams and the only way to make those go away is to pass out of it, and trust your guys. And that’s what he did tonight.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com