KEYSER, W.Va. — Keyser’s offense wasn’t anything special, but its defense was in the second half of Tuesday’s 52-42 win over Moorefield.
“Kind of back to our old, taking us two quarters to get rolling,” Keyser head coach Scott Furey said. “We just talked about the fact the playoffs are coming up and we cannot be in that mode.”
The Golden Tornado (9-12) allowed 19 points after halftime and forced seven turnovers in the third quarter.
Ian Spiker took a pass from Trey Dawson with 22 seconds remaining in the third quarter and buried a triple to put Keyser in front 36-30 heading to the fourth.
“A decent defensive game, we missed a couple foul shots, couple layups in a row,” Moorefield head coach Scott Stutler said. “They came down and hit a three, and that was a big turn in the game.”
The Tornado opened the fourth quarter on an 8-2 run, stretching the lead up to 44-32 with 5:10 to play.
The closest the Yellow Jackets (5-14) got to a comeback was 50-42 after a floater from Guyan Kahangirwe with 52 seconds left.
“We missed shots, and they made shots,” Stutler said. “We had players in foul trouble all night, that hurt us.”
In the first half, the name of the game was draining the clock and limiting possessions and shots.
Each team made three field goals in the first quarter compared to four turnovers apiece.
“I don’t even know if it was feeling each other out,” Furey said. “Unfortunately, we as coaches talked, we have been known for that. We’ve been known to get down six, seven, eight points or go out and the first four or five possessions are turnovers.”
Tied at 9 after one quarter, the second quarter featured six lead changes and five ties.
In the final minute, Moorefield was called for an illegal screen.
Keyser turned it into a layup by Evan Ack to go up 24-21.
In the final seconds, Kameron Samples blocked a shot, then sprinted down the floor and threw down a one-handed tomahawk dunk.
Diego Taylor answered with a layup to cut the Tornado halftime lead to 26-23.
“The coach in me says hey, congratulations, but you gave up a layup on the other end because we’re celebrating,” Furey said. “But that’s something he’s been working on his whole life and that’s the one chance he got. We were happy for him there and they were super psyched for him coming in (the locker room).”
Braylon McGreevy was key defensively for Keyser with four steals and two blocks, also recording seven points and three assists.
“Sometimes it’s by necessity because if we’re getting beat off the dribble out in front, he’s gotta protect the rim,” Furey said. “Kudos to him for having a bunch of blocks, but at the same time, some of those could’ve been avoided if we don’t give up the dribble drive.”
Grayson Lambka led the Tornado with 10 points, three assists and a steal while Moorefield’s Shawn Reed scored a game-high 11 points with four assists, a steal and a block.
The Yellow Jackets play at Pendleton County on Wednesday before hosting Liberty on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
The Golden Tornado face Preston at home to end the regular season on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
This season, the West Virginia playoff format changed to remove the sectional round and replace it with regionals featuring single elimination and two teams from each region qualifying for states.
The coaches vote to determine the seeding, then the winners of the two region semifinal games advance to Charleston.
“I prefer the sectional play because the rivalries, you’re not gonna get some of the Frankfort-Keyser, we might not even see them in the playoffs,” Furey said. “Sometimes there may not be as big a market if a Lewis County or Lincoln came to Keyser. People would come watch them, but if they know Frankfort were coming or Hampshire were coming, they’re coming out. I think we lose a little bit of that without sectional play.”