By Bill Nestor
A trio of Harrison County boys basketball teams were just one win away from a trip to the state tournament in Charleston. Bridgeport, Lincoln, and Robert C. Byrd finished their seasons this past week in regional setbacks. All of these teams had impressive seasons and even though the last outing didn”t turn out as planned, none of them went out without a fight.
Bridgeport hosted the AAAA Region I co-final against Wheeling Park last Thursday. The Indians were familiar with Park, defeating the Quad A squad 51 to 44 two days before Christrmas on the very same floor. Going back to last season, the Tribe had owned the Patriots, defeating them a year ago to advance to the Big Dance.
Bridgeport has been on the warpath all season, and heading into the lock-up had won 10 of their last 12 games. Even though the Indians have been able to find ways to win down the stretch of the regular season, they hadn’t been clicking on all cylinders. Sickness had been running rampant through the roster. Veteran mentor Dave Marshall didn’t have a fully healthy team for several contests and that can affect a team’s offensive efficiency.
A combination of Wheeling Park’s one-three-one defense and poor shooting put Bridgeport behind the eight ball early. The Indians trailed 17 to 11 after the first quarter and 27 to 19 at the halftime break. Marshall’s teams are known for their defensive efforts and they clamped down in the third segment.
Out of the break, the Tribe allowed just five points in eight minutes to draw to within three points heading into the final period. The cold shooting, however, would eventually be too much for Bridgeport to overcome (they would finish the game one of 16 from three-point range) and would fold 49 to 38.
Phoenix Sickles was the lone Indian in double figures with 14 points. The Tribe would end the campaign with a 20 and five record with every setback coming to a state tournament bound team.
Lincoln hosted East Fairmont this past Wednesday after winning the sectional title the week prior. The Bees rolled into Shinnston after a lopsided loss to Fairmont Senior. Meanwhile, the Cougars were arguably one of the hottest teams in North Central West Virginia as winners of eight of their last nine battles.
Lincoln jumped out to a 15 to 11 advantage after the first period of play. The second frame was a defensive struggle, and when the dust settled, the home team took a 22 to 19 lead into the break. An epic battle took place in the third stanza, which led to the Cougars maintaining a slim two-point lead with just eight minutes left to play. The last quarter did not go as planned and with Fairmont outshining Lincoln 14 to seven to claim the 43 to 38 win.
Aiden Rice led the Cougars with 13 points, while Brayden Edgell chipped in nine. Lincoln ended the year with a 14 and 10 mark.
Robert C. Byrd was forced to travel to Fairmont to face the two-time defending state AAA champion Fairmont Senior Polar Bears.
The Flying ZEagles had lost twice to the champs during the regular season by a combined 57 points. In those wins, senior Polar Bear guard Zycheus Dobbs scored 29 and 32 points respectively. Robert C. Byrd head coach Basil Lucas wanted to pressure someone else into scoring the ball for Fairmont Senior.
Lucas used a combination of defenses designed to slow Dobbs, and he was held to just seven first half points. A tie game after the first period gave way to a 29 to 18 Polar Bear lead at the half. The Flying Eagles were still in striking distance until the third period. Senior went exclusively to a full court press, causing multiple turnovers, which led to easy buckets.
They went on to outscore RCB 31 to 12 in the stanza. The Polar Bears would punch their ticket to Charleston with the 74 to 36 victory. Manny Holmes led the Flying Eagles with 13 points. RCB ended the year with a 10 and 14 record.