Keyser wins section in 83-81 double overtime thriller over Hampshire

Mar. 4—ROMNEY, W.Va. — No. 2 seed Keyser won the West Virginia Class AAA, Region I, Section 2 final in a 83-81 double overtime thriller over No. 1 seed Hampshire on Friday night.

The Golden Tornado (17-7) trailed by five with 30 seconds left in regulation, but were able to force overtime and eventually double overtime.

"Like we say all the time, we bet on ourselves all the time," Keyser head coach Scott Furey said. "I bet on our kids and the effort they're gonna give. We're ugly a lot of times, seems like a street fight all the time. But I'm always betting on our guys."

The Trojans (13-10) also put up a respectable fight, but came up just short.

"I'm proud of the way we fought," Hampshire head coach Danny Alkire said. "It was a tough game, it was a battle the whole way through. We persevered many times, we just didn't come out on top."

Hampshire led for most of the first three quarters. The Trojans led 15-14 after the first period and 26-19 at halftime.

"They're a good defensive team," Alkire said. "The way they play defense, forcing shots, forcing bad passes. Putting us in bad positions to score. Credit to Keyser and their defense."

Hampshire led by as many as 10 points in the third quarter, but the Tornado cut it to two points at the end of it.

Down 40-38 early in the fourth quarter, Donovan Washington converted an and-one layup to give Keyser a 41-40 lead.

"I just felt our kids were ready for this," Furey said. "They played loose, we talked about that in practice yesterday. Shots didn't fall early, but we asked them to keep playing loose. There's no consequences here, we get a game Wednesday either way. But we'd rather have a three minute ride than a four hour ride."

The Trojans responded with a 12-2 run to extend their lead to 53-44 with 3:07 left in the quarter.

Over the next three minutes, the Tornado outscored Hampshire 19-10 and cut their deficit to 63-61 with 22.2 seconds left.

"We decided we were gonna start attacking the rim," Furey said. "I'm confident that Donovan is a hard check. If we get him enough space, it's hard to guard him on the ball."

Several Keyser players had big fourth quarters including Washington, Noah Broadwater and Patrick Liller. Washington scored 10 points, Liller eight and Broadwater had seven.

The Tornado were in foul trouble late in regulation. Broadwater, Mike Schell and Drew Matlick all had either fouled out or had four fouls. While some of Keyser's key players weren't available, others stepped up when needed most.

"The guys we know we have around us, they've been with me since kindergarten," Furey said. "We're clinging onto this group as long as we can. Not that the next group can't be special, but there's something different when you watch someone learn their ABC's and you watch them make free throws at the end of a game."

Jordan Gray and Jenson Fields stepped up for Hampshire in the fourth quarter as well. Gray scored nine points shooting 7 for 8 at the line. Fields added eight points.

In the final seconds of regulation, Washington found Liller for a 3-pointer that made it a two-point game. Mason Hott hit a pair of free throws to give Hampshire a 65-63 lead with 1.8 seconds left.

"Basketball's a game of swings," Alkire said. "We always teach our kids, there's gonna be swings. They're gonna score 10, we're gonna score 10. It's gonna go back and forth, you keep adjusting to the other team."

On the final possession of regulation, Matlick found Liller for a layup to tie the game forcing overtime.

"With his size advantage, he's gotta be able to get there," Furey said of Liller. "I think he took it upon himself to say I think I can make this play. It was a great play."

The teams went back and forth in the first overtime with four ties and two lead changes. Tied at 75 with 15 seconds left, the Trojans had the ball and ran the clock down, but were unable to get a shot off and the game went to a second overtime.

"Good defense, they put us in a tough position not to get the shot," Alkire said. "They countered what we were trying to do. We just didn't get our shot off."

After another tightly contested overtime period, Hampshire trailed 81-77 with 15 seconds remaining. Hott found Fields for a and-one 3-pointer that tied the game.

On the other end, the Trojans committed a foul that sent Liller to the line. He made both shots to win the game.

Free throws were one of the key factors in overtime. The Tornado shot 12 for 14 while the Trojans went 5 for 8. Washington was 5 of 6 at the line.

"He and Noah are different but the same," Furey said. "Same stature but both of them love going to the line and really like attacking. You're probably getting four or five blocked and no foul called, but when you do get those fouls called it's so beneficial for us."

Washington led Keyser with 21 points, seven assists and two steals. Liller scored 19 points while Broadwater had 13.

"Our whole junior class, Noah, Patrick, Drew and Jack (Stanislawczyk) have been winning their whole life," Furey said. "They've been in big games, so it wasn't anything to say it's time to step up. Patrick was dead ready for those free throws at the end. I had no doubt those were going in."

Hampshire's Gray and Fields each scored 24 points and were the leading scorers for either team. Fields scored 10 in the first quarter.

"I'm just proud of the way they fought," Alkire said.

Both teams advance to the Region I finals on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Keyser will host North Marion (12-10) and Hampshire travels to Weir (15-9).

"We're gonna celebrate this for about 24 hours, that's about it," Furey said. "We gotta start watching film and get ready for North Marion who we've already seen. It's a great thing for them to celebrate, but Sunday it's time to turn the page."

Jordan Kendall is a Sports Writer for the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @JKendallCTN.