The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

High School Sports

February 2, 2013

No. 3 Morgantown survives Jefferson

By J. Daniel Rollins Register-Herald Sports Writer

BECKLEY — In the opening game of the Class AAA portion of the Big Atlantic Classic, the No. 3-ranked Morgantown Mohigans outlasted the feisty Jefferson Cougars 57-50.

“I call that yo-yo ball,” Morgantown coach Tom Yester said. “Up and down. Up sometimes, down others. You can tell we don’t have the two big guys.”

Morgantown is currently playing without Austin Agnew and Nathan Adrian due to injuries. Neither player is expected to return this season.

While the Mohigans were missing the size Agnew and Adrian bring, it didn’t seem to matter on the boards. Morgantown outrebounded Jefferson 42-24.

Morgantown’s Dean Marshall stepped up in the absence of Morgantown’s big two, scoring 23 points and collecting eight rebounds.

“Dean Marshall had a very nice game,” Yester said. “He’s very solid. We still have a lot of things to work on and we let Jalen Smith get too many points. He’s a nice player.  Same with (Josh) Dudley. Hats off to them. They’re good players.”

Smith and Dudley had 21 and 17 points, respectively, and both netted three 3-pointers.

Yester said the Big Atlantic Classic is a great way to help his team prepare for next month’s state tournament.

“You get to play on a neutral court, and the background is somewhat similar to what you experience in Charleston,” Yester said. “You’re away from home ... my gosh, today we ate, went to the hotel and came and played basketball, so it’s the same scenario.”

Morgantown and Jefferson will both be in action today. Morgantown will take on Woodrow Wilson at 7:20 p.m. in the one of the AAA championship games, while Jefferson plays Lewis County at 10:40 a.m. in a consolation game.



Morgantown (14-2)

Mark Johnson 1 0-0 2, Nicholas Colasante 1 0-0 2, Daniel Eby 5 0-0 10, Dean Marshall 8 7-8 23, Shaun Carden 4 0-0 8, Todd Turner 0 0-0 0, Thomas Selby 2 0-0 4, CJ King 1 0-0 2. Totals: 24 8-12 57.

Jefferson (3-12)

John Dudley 4 6-7 17, Michael Tennant 0 0-0 0, Jalen Smith 8 2-3 21, Christian Johnson 0 0-0 0, Mario Gonzalez 0 2-2 2, Anthony Herbert 0 0-0 0, Geoff Walker 0 0-0 0, Kalen Nehler 2 0-0 5, Michael King 2 0-0 5. Totals: 16 10-14 50.

M    20    11    12    14    —    57

J    13    15    10    12    —    50

3-point goals — M: 1 (Core) ; J: 8 (Dudley 3, Smith 3, Nehler, King). Fouled out — none.

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