Keyser falls to Moorefield 60-46
KEYSER - Keyser entered Wednesday night’s game at home against Moorefield with a goal of getting back into the win column after losing four straight games. The visiting Yellow Jackets showed right away that it would be tough sledding for the Golden Tornado, and it was, for the entire game. When the final buzzer sounded, it was Moorefield taking the win 60-46.
It was certainly not the play or the outcome that Keyser coach Johnny Haines had hoped for.
“No it was not. Again, when you make six field goals in three quarters of basketball, you’re not going to win any game. I try to play everyone to give us a shot of energy, but we’re getting beat off screens, we’re not setting screens, and that’s lack of effort. We’re playing lazy in our offense and our defense,” Haines detailed.
Moorefield jumped out to a 14-3 lead and held on for the rest of the first quarter to take a nine-point, 20-11 lead heading into the second quarter. In that second quarter, an 18-12 Yellow Jackets advantage gave the visitors from Hardy County a 15-point, 38-23 lead heading into the locker rooms at the half.
In the third frame, a 10-6 Moorefield advantage propelled them to a 48-29 lead heading into the final stanza. In the fourth quarter, Keyser outscored the visitors 17-12, but the Black and Gold fell by a final tally of 60-46.
In the loss, Keyser was led by Jacob Weinrich with a team-high 15 points, followed by Noah Broadwater and Sammy Bradfield with eight points each, and Mike Schell with four points. In addition, Seth Earnest and Drew Matlick tallied three points, Josh Shoemaker and Patrick Liller two points apiece, and Braydon Keller one point.
“I thought Jacob has been playing well offensively and when he starts playing well defensively, he’ll probably be on the court all four quarters. I thought the younger kids and some kids who haven’t seen a lot of playing minutes came in at the end and gave us a little spark. They showed that they want to be out there.”
According to Haines, “It’s my job to figure out the seven or eight guys that want to be out there and who care about Keyser basketball, and that’s what we’re doing as a program right now. Come February, it’s going to be a very thin rotation, and those guys are going to be out there.”
“Seth Earnest coming in, he looked energetic and aggressive, people like that, they’re going to see the court more,” Haines detailed.
Moorefield was led in double figures by three players. Ryan McGregor led the way with 18 points, followed by Coleman Mongold with 17 pints, and Dean Keplinger with 11 points. In addition, Levi Thompson and Ronny Grenst added six points each, and Blake Funk two points.
One bright spot on the night was the fact that Keyser won again in the junior varsity ranks, topping the junior Jackets 49-35.
Josh Shoemaker led the way for Keyser with 11 points, while Drew Matlick, Edan Parks, and Anthony Mele tallied seven points apiece. In addition, Patrick Liller had six points, Donovan Washington and Jace Courrier five points each, and Chase Davis one point.
Tyson Arnold led Moorefield with 10 points, Orlando Rico added eight points, Adam Landes seven points, and Bradley Williamson six points. In addition, Guyan Kahangirwe added three points, and James Williams one point.
In the varsity ranks, Keyser falls to 4-6.
This article originally appeared on Mineral Daily News-Tribune: Keyser falls to Moorefield 60-46
