By Michael Minnich
Tribune Sports Editor
mminnich@newstribune.info
CHARLESTON
A slow start, combined with a 13-2 Oak Hill run from late in the third quarter into the fourth and poor shooting all day, were too much for the seventh-seeded Keyser Golden Tornado to overcome.
KHS lost, 63-38, in the state quarterfinals at the Charleston Civic Center, to the second-seeded Red Devils.
Jack Flournoy led all scorers with 19 points for Oak Hill, while Deandre Leonard added 14 points and Kalif Wright 10.
All three players also were in double figures in rebounds.
“We knew coming in they had three big scorers,” said Keyser coach Gary Liston after the game. “We tried to zone as long as we could to keep the ball from getting inside, but No. 21 [Noah Smith] hit a couple of threes, so we had to get out of the zone. Hard to play them man: Jarell Ross has a lot of heart, but it's a difficult task to ask him to guard a 6-6 guy.”
Keyser shot 22.6 percent from the game and a woeful 2-of-19 from beyond the three-point arc.
“Regardless of who we play, it's hard to win when you score 38. We lived on the perimeter way too much. We're not a good perimeter-shooting team, and if you look at the stats, they pretty much showed that,” said Liston.
Wes Washington was the only KHS player in double figures with 11 points; fellow junior Peyton Hartman just missed a double-double with nine points and ten rebounds, although he had just one rebound in the second half.
The Red Devils drew first blood on a three from Deandre Leonard at the 7:35 mark before Keyser responded with their first field goal, a second-chance bank shot from R.C. Pratt.
Oak Hill scored the next four points on a Jack Flournoy dunk and a Kyle Colon layup, giving them a 7-2 lead heading into a Keyser timeout with 5:01 left in the first quarter.
After a pair of Wes Washington free throws brought Keyser within three points at 7-4, Oak Hill wet on a 9-0 run, with four different players scoring.
The Red Devils led, 16-4, with 30 seconds left in the quarter.
Washington had been attacking the basket all quarter, and with 18 seconds left, it paid off with a layup.
Keyser trailed by ten points, 16-6, after the first quarter.
Two Noah Smith threes for OHHS book-ended a pair of makes at the line by KHS' Peyton Hartman.
Oak Hill led, 22-8.
However, three Oak Hill players had two fouls to their name at the 4:52 mark, and Keyser took advantage.
After an exchange of free throws, the Golden Tornado scored the next seven points on a Chris Halbritter jumper, a Washington layup in transition, and a catch-and-shoot from beyond the arc in the right corner by Pratt.
The lead was 23-16 with 3:33 left in the half.
After a pair of Oak Hill free throws moved the lead to double figures, Hartman closed the cushion back to seven points with a running layup and a free throw.
Flournoy scored the half's last four points.
Oak Hill led, 30-19, at intermission.
Keyser shot just 6-for-34 (17.6%) from the field and 1-for-10 from beyond the arc.
Helping to keep the Golden Tornado alive: offensive rebounds.
Keyser pulled down 11 (four by Hartman and three by Pratt) and turned them into eight of their 19 points.
The Golden Tornado turned the ball over just five times, but the Red Devils made them pay, scoring seven points off of those mistakes.
Both teams came out of the break strong: Washington canned a three, Kalif Wright responded for Oak Hill with a dunk, then Hartman hit a short shot.
The exchange continued: Colon for Oak Hill, Langston Hines for Keyser, Wright from the line, then Damon Thorne with a layup for Keyser.
The three field goals in the first minute of the half for Keyser matched their output in the first 12 minutes of the game.
Oak Hill led, 35-28, heading into a timeout with 4:06 left in the third quarter.
From there, the Red Devils went on a 13-2 run, with Flournoy scoring the last eight points.
“We were down seven, and I blinked, and we were down 15. And then, once they got on a roll, it was hard to dig our way out of it,” said Liston.
Washington ended a field goal drought of 4:42 with a layup before Flournoy scored again.
With the lead at 18 points, Oak Hill's strong free throw shooting kept KHS at arm's length the rest of the way.
A layup by Leonard pushed the lead to 20 points, 56-36, with 2:59 left, and, after a Jarell Ross layup, the advantage never dipped below that number again.
“We won three postseason games, and they were very low-scoring, but we were able to defend people. They weren't as good offensively as Oak Hill was today,” said Liston.
Oak Hill (19-4) advances to face Weir in the state semifinals on Friday morning.
Keyser ends the year at 13-11.
