McHENRY — Keyser led for nearly 31 of the 32 minutes of game time, defeating No. 2 Allegany 72-55 at Saturday’s Western Maryland Classic held at Garrett College.
Trey Dawson hit a 3-pointer 53 seconds into the game that put the Golden Tornado (7-7) ahead for good.
Keyser opened the game on a 15-4 run led by Dawson’s seven points.
“Getting the start we had tonight versus the start we had against Frankfort, that’s the outcome that we can produce every night in my opinion,” Keyser head coach Scott Furey said. “Being able to get up on a team like that, you can’t let them get in front, they’ve got too many weapons.”
Against the Falcons a week ago Friday, Frankfort opened on an 18-2 run and held the Tornado without a made field goal until 1:30 remained in the first quarter.
Dawson was named the game’s Most Valuable Player after scoring a game-high 23 points with four assists, a steal and a block.
Lane Champion capped the run with a steal and a dunk.
“We just got outworked,” Allegany head coach Brandon Reed said. “Having seven days off, it’s not an excuse. Everybody’s in the same boat we are, we’re not making excuses out of it. We got outworked, that’s probably one of the first times I’ve felt like that this year.”
The Campers (9-4) shot 1 of 10 from the field to begin the game, while the Tornado opened 4 of 6.
Keyser led 21-12 after one, but Allegany forced six turnovers in the second quarter and scored nine of its 15 points off takeaways.
“It’s kind of been the whole theme of our season, when we get stops, we make more shots,” Reed said. “We started making more shots in the second quarter because we were making more stops. But when we gave up 21 points in the first quarter, you feel like you’re playing catch-up the whole time.”
The Campers cut the halftime deficit to 32-27 on an inbound from Owen Rice to Traeh Grassi for an open layup.
Braylon McGreevy scored 10 of the Tornado’s 11 points in the second quarter and was 5 of 6 from the field in the half for 13 points.
McGreevy finished with 19 points and three blocks.
Keyser shot 12 of 23 (52%) from the field while Alco went 9 of 27 (33%).
The Campers kept the margin within two scores for most of the third quarter and got within four points at 46-42 with 1:47 left in the frame.
“I was happy with us being able to maintain composure,” Furey said. “We had that stretch in the second quarter where we started turning the ball over. We came in and addressed that at halftime. Even though they pressed us the rest of the way, we still limited turnovers in the second half.”
Grassi knocked down a jumper off a Davis Williams’ assist, but Allegany failed to get any closer.
The Tornado ended the quarter on a 7-1 run, stretching their lead to 53-43.
“Rebounding was a major key,” Reed said. “We could not get a rebound. They’re bigger than us, but they wanted it more than us. We didn’t box out very well.”
Led by Grayson Lambka’s five points and an assist, Keyser opened the fourth on a 13-2 run to extend the margin to 66-45.
Lambka shot 6 of 8 at the charity stripe in the quarter, finishing with 12 points, three assists and a steal.
Alco guard Chris Manherz averages just under 25 points per game, but was held to two points in the second quarter and finished with 20 points and three steals.
“That just tells you how good he is when you hold him to 20,” Furey said. “But everybody in the area knows he’s a special player. I don’t care how tall he is, he plays like he’s seven feet and has a heart inside there that you just can’t beat. It’s a challenge and we got a bunch of guys that love and embrace the challenge.”
The Campers head to No. 5 Mountain Ridge (6-6) on Monday at 7 p.m.
The Golden Tornado host No. 4 Petersburg (10-3) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
“I know they can score with the best of them,” Furey said of the Vikings. “We’re gonna have to be in the same situation like we were here. It’s no secret we’re trying to go 15 and 10, 15 for us, 10 for them every quarter and go 60-40. But they’ve got a bunch of shooters, they’re like Frankfort. They got guards that can fill it up.”