Smith still perfect in Beckley

Warriors take down Falcons for 85-63 victory

By Dave Morrison

Oak Hill Academy coach Steve Smith’s record at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center remains perfect.

The Warriors got 21 points from Doron Lamb and Bryan Allen and outscored Mountain State Academy 45-32 in the second half to put away the Falcons 85-63 in front a near-capacity crowd Tuesday night.

In what was expected to be a 12-round epic, it was three punches delivered by Oak Hill Academy (6-0) that turned the tide in favor of the Warriors.

The first came early when MSA lost starting guard Jabs Newby to a hip injury right after the opening tip.

Then came a big uppercut, when Oak Hill Academy, holding for the last shot of the first half, got the basket, made a steal and converted at the buzzer to take a nine-point lead at the break.

The final blow came when MSA, making a second-half run, saw it halted by an Allen three-pointer.

It was yet another win in Beckley for Smith.

“The record is intact,” Smith, the longtime coach at Oak Hill Academy, said. “I’d say we’re 30-0 here now. The first time we came up here was in 1995; we played Woodrow Wilson when we had Ron Mercer. Then we were in several (Mountain State Coal Classics). I’d say we’ve played here 30 times.”

It’s almost like a home away from Mouth of Wilson, Va., for the Warriors.

For Mountain State Academy, looking for a signature win as it moves into year two of playing national competition, it was a nightmare in front of the home crowd.

“Just my luck, we lose Jabs on the first play of the game,” MSA coach Rob Fulford said. “He’s the most athletic kid we have on our team.”

“It certainly didn’t help things,” added point guard Noah Cottrill, who finished with a game-high 27 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Big Tiny Gallon, the Warriors’ 6-foot-9, 320-pound man-child, controlled things early and finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, despite foul trouble. Point guard Mo Mo Jones added 12 points for Oak Hill.

Both coaches saw the end of the first half as the game’s first turning point.

“Huge,” Fulford said. “It goes from possibly being a five-point game to a nine-point lead. It was a mental mistake. We had the wrong guy inbounding the ball. And it cost us.”

“We were holding for the last shot,” Smith said. “We shot too early, but it worked out for us. Then we had possession to start the second half. That changed the momentum of the game.”

So did Allen, who is considering West Virginia among his college choices.

Down 60-43, Cottrill drilled a pair of quick threes (he had four in the fourth quarter and made 7-of-14 from long range) and Deniz Kilicli scored inside to make it 62-51, but Allen hit a three to start a 9-0 run to put the game away.

“The way Cottrill hits those threes, Bryan’s shot was huge,” Smith said.

MSA (2-1) got no closer than 16 after that.

“We played hard,” Cottrill said. “Some of the guys have never played in an environment like this before. They were a little jittery before the game. We did all we could do. I played my hardest. We played our hardest. We just made too many mental mistakes.”

In addition to Cottrill, Kilicli, of interest because he has verbally committed to WVU, finished with 10 points and two rebounds.

“It’s disappointing,” Fulford said. “I’m not upset with Deniz over his scoring, but two rebounds is just not acceptable. Rebounding is ‘want to.’ I told him after the game that this is the American style of basketball. And he’s going to have to adapt.”

Vander Joaquim, who has signed with Nebraska, had 10 points and 10 rebounds for MSA and freshman Najee Whitehead had 10 points, eight boards and six assists.

Mountain State plays at Mountain Mission, Va., Saturday, Nov. 22.

Oak Hill Academy 85, Mountain State Academy 63

Oak Hill Academy (6-0)

Doron Lamb 7-12 7-8 21, Glenn Bryant 4-4 0-0 8, Bryan Allen 10-18 0-0 21, Tiny Gallon 8-11 1-1 17, Lamont Jones 4-16 3-4 12, Austin Aleexih 0-1 0-0 0, Chasen Campbell 0-0 0-0 0, Pe’Shan Howard 1-5 1-2 4, Kevin Kegarees 0-0 0-0 0, Baye Moussa Keita 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 35-70 12-15 85.

Mountain State Academy (2-1)

Jabs Newby 0-0 0-0 0, Vander Joaquim 4-7 2-7 10, Noah Cottrill 8-17 4-5 27, Bryan Lowther 0-4 0-2 0, Deniz Kilicli 5-12 0-2 10, Can Korkmaz 1-2 0-0 2, Najee Whitehead 5-16 0-0 10, Johnathan Coleman 0-0 0-0 0, Justin Diamond 2-3 0-0 4, Micah Pfalzgraff 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-63 6-16 63.

OHA (6-0) 23 17 20 25 — 85

MSA (2-1) 18 13 12 20 — 63

3-Point Goals—OHA 3-14 (Allen 1-4, Gallon 0-1, Jones 1-6, Aleexih 0-1, Howard 1-2), MSA 7-18 (Joaquim 0-1, Cottrill 7-14, Lowther 0-1, Korkmaz 0-1, Whitehead 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—OHA 33 (Gallon 9), MSA 39 (Joaquim 10). Assists—OHA 15 (Lamb, Gallon 4), MSA 15 (Whitehead 6). Total Fouls—OHA 14, MSA 11. A—2,933.