CUMBERLAND — When a team grabs two rebounds for every one its opponent corrals, few other statistics matter.
Third-ranked Keyser pulled down 53 boards to Allegany’s 25, and the Golden Tornado used 9-0 and 11-0 runs to defeat the Campers, 68-60, Friday behind a game-high 22 points for big man Braylon McGreevy.
“We had two rough games this week coming into this, and three in four days with the effort that we knew we were gonna have to put into it,” Keyser head coach Scott Furey said. “To be able to come back with the same effort tonight, I can’t say enough about it. … That was a big win for us.”
Keyser got back to .500 at 9-9, finishing 1-2 during a week that included narrow losses to Frankfort, 54-52, and No. 2 Southern, 52-47, in overtime.
Allegany (12-7) has lost four of seven games, a stretch that began with a 72-55 defeat to Keyser at Garrett College on Jan. 31.
The Campers were without the services of starting forward Sebastian Stewart, who was suspended after picking up two technical fouls at Hampshire on Tuesday.
Despite the hefty disparity in rebounds, points in the paint and second-chance points, Allegany still found itself in the game after a 10-0 run in the fourth lowered Keyser’s lead to 58-56 with 4:55 to play.
McGreevy, who had been on the bench with four fouls, returned out of a timeout, and Keyser responded with a 9-0 flurry in 1 minute and 50 seconds to go back up double digits (67-56).
Keyser left the door open late, going 3 for 10 at the free-throw line in the fourth and 12 for 27 for the game, but Allegany went cold too to allow the Golden Tornado to close it out.
“Rebounding, rebounding, rebounding,” Allegany head coach Brandon Reed said. “We work so much on it and we’re just not executing it. It’s just got to be better. I don’t think it’s for lack of effort. It’s just lack of focus.”
McGreevy scored at will in the painted area for Keyser, and he was not alone. Trey Dawson slashed to the rim for 14 points, and Lane Champion added 12.
Cam Owens (seven points) and Grayson Lambka (six) also used their strength to helped Keyser on the boards.
Lambka drew the defensive assignment on Allegany standout Chris Manherz. While the Alco senior still tallied 20 points and eight rebounds, both team-high totals, Furey was pleased with Lambka’s effort on that end of the floor.
“This week, Grayson had to guard (Frankfort’s) Jeremy Phillips, (Southern’s Graham) Harvey and Manherz,” he said. “Yeah, that’s a week. You know the type of athlete that he is, and the type of person that he is, he loves the challenge.”
Allegany’s Cole Ricker added 14 points and two steals, Owen Rice garnered 13 points, and Landon Holliday finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four steals.
The Campers opened to a 14-10 lead before Keyser ended the first quarter with a 10-0 burst for a 20-14 edge after one.
McGreevy, who scored eight points in the first quarter, combined with Dawson for 13 in the second to guide Keyser to a 41-32 advantage at the half.
Allegany has struggled to shoot the basketball in recent weeks, but the Campers drilled eight 3-pointers to Keyser’s three on Friday.
Manherz and Rice made three treys each, and Ricker sunk a pair of 3s.
When Allegany closed the gap in the fourth, however, the Campers couldn’t convert despite having open looks.
“We definitely shot a lot better,” Reed said. “It was 58-56, and I felt like we got three great looks, and we just couldn’t make it. That’s kind of felt like the story of the season. It’s just that one stretch where we just kind of can’t make that key shot.”
Allegany won the junior varsity game 31-22. Khiante Bible and Clay Bailey paced the Campers with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Cole Holland led Keyser with five points.
Allegany is back in action at home against Smithsburg on Friday at 7 p.m.
Keyser is at No. 4 Petersburg (12-4) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
While the Golden Tornado didn’t finish the way Furey would’ve liked on the offensive end Friday, they never stopped playing defense. In the end, that’s something Keyser will have to fall back on as it looks to make a final push before the postseason.
“It always seems that we’re trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory,” he said. “But the fact that we kept coming back down here and still playing hard and not sulking because we missed shots or we turned the ball over.
“They made sure the shooters weren’t getting easy and good looks. … For them to keep their wits about them and come down and keep playing hard on the defensive end, I can’t ask for more.”