KEYSER, W.Va. — After losing 70-51 in the first meeting on Jan. 9, Mountain Ridge got revenge on the road, defeating No. 5 Keyser 54-34 on Friday.
Leading 4-2 early in the game, the Miners (11-9) scored 11 unanswered to stretch its lead to 15-2.
“That’s a great, great win for us,” Mountain Ridge head coach Tim Nightengale said. “Keyser got us at Mountain Ridge by 19 and to come into their place and play the way we did tonight, limit them to 34 points, that’s really good defense.”
Cam Breighner scored seven of his 11 first quarter points during the run and finished with a game-high 22.
“Just moving the ball, getting quality shots that we know we can make and working it, pretty much,” Breighner said of his offensive success.”
John Delaney scored 10 points with two assists and a steal.
“Getting out in transition really helps,” Delaney said. “We’re really pushing the pace recently offensively and I think it leads to some quality shots.”
The Golden Tornado (11-10) went just under three minutes in between scores and trailed 15-4 after one.
“Unfortunately, I think we were due for one of those,” Keyser head coach Scott Furey said. “We’ve been playing really well, I just thought we came out flat from the very beginning. I didn’t think there was much energy, which is strange being Senior Night and the band being here and all that.”
Mountain Ridge shot 7 of 15 (46%) from the field compared to Keyser’s 2 of 9 (22%) in the opening frame.
The Miners led by as many as 16 points in the second quarter at 24-8.
Mountain Ridge led 29-18 at halftime after shooting 13 of 24 (54%) from the floor in the first half.
“The last four days have been focused on getting the ball for paint touches,” Nightengale said. “If we can get the ball for paint touches, that works our quality shots, going to the basket, our kick-out shots into rhythm. That’s been our big focus was getting into the paint.”
The Tornado went 6 of 19 (32%) from the field.
Keyser got within seven points at two points in the third quarter.
The first came with five minutes left in the frame after opening the second half on a 6-2 run.
After the Miners were called for an offensive foul, Braylon McGreevy banked in a jumper to get Keyser within 37-30.
“I thought we played better defense,” Furey said. “We were getting more steals and playing better defense in the third quarter which allows us to turn around and get down and score. There were just some possessions where we get to seven and we threw it away twice in a row and that resulted in points for them.”
McGreevy led the Tornado with 14 points, adding three assists, two steals and two blocks.
In the final seconds, Keyser committed a turnover on a throw away.
Moments later, Breighner scored on a layup to put Mountain Ridge ahead 40-30 after three.
The Miners outscored the Tornado 14-4 in the fourth quarter and led by at least 10 points the rest of the night.
Keyser celebrated Senior Night before the game and recognized McGreevy, Grayson Lambka, Cam Owens and Lane Champion.
“They’re just a competitive bunch,” Furey said. “More than anything, they’re super kids. Great students and really good kids. And that’s all we really care about here. They’re also pretty good at basketball.
“But more than anything, they’re great people and they’re gonna be successful. For them to be in control of the ship and get everybody to stay focused through a 1-6 start and end up where we are, that’s just all credit to them.”
Lambka scored seven points with two steals.
The Golden Tornado end their regular season at Berkeley Springs on Monday at 7:30 p.m.
The Miners prepare for the West Region playoffs beginning on Friday.
“We’re right where we want to be,” Nightengale said. “After midnight tonight, everybody’s 0-0. We gotta come back to work tomorrow, prepare for what lies ahead on Friday.”
Keyser’s junior varsity won 45-35 led by Rio Simone’s 13 points while Declan McGeady paced Mountain Ridge, also with 13.