KEYSER, W.Va. — Keyser beat Petersburg down on Tuesday: On both ends of the floor, on the glass and on the scoreboard.
The Golden Tornado used their muscle and length to keep Petersburg’s high-scoring guards Kaleb Kuhn and Payton Metheny out of the paint. Conversely, the Vikings had no answer for slashers Trey Dawson and Grayson Lambka, nor for big man Braylon McGreevy, who had his way down low.
McGreevy, Dawson and Lambka combined for 51 points — all scored inside the 3-point arch — and No. 5 Keyser led by 11 after a quarter and by 20 shortly after halftime to roll to a 63-51 victory over No. 3 Petersburg on Tuesday night.
“We were obviously worried about them coming in because we know they have scorers,” Keyser head coach Scott Furey said. “Being able to go back to back with the Allegany win. … I was pleased with our effort, pleased with the execution for the most part.”
Keyser started the season just 2-6 but has rattled off six wins in seven games to improve to 8-7. Petersburg fell to 10-4 with its second straight defeat.
The Golden Tornado’s defense frustrated Petersburg throughout the first half and was key during an 11-1 run that allowed Keyser to lead 17-6 after a quarter.
Keyser took a 37-20 edge into halftime, a margin that became 20 points just nine seconds into the second half following an old-fashioned three-point play by McGreevy.
Petersburg used a half-court trap and full-court pressure to get within 51-41 going into the final period, but it never got closer than eight points despite a paltry 17 for 34 effort by Keyser at the charity stripe — including a 4 for 16 showing in the fourth.
“I give credit where credit is due, Keyser came out, smacked us in the mouth, and I take full responsibility,” Petersburg head coach Stacey Berg said. “As head coach, I did not have my kids ready to go.
“We made some adjustments, I thought the kids came out and responded well. … We just couldn’t get over the hump.”
Keyser’s physicality, particularly that of Lambka in his defense of Kuhn, gave Petersburg trouble throughout in the half court.
Kuhn was held to a season-low six points, well below his more than 20 per game average entering the night.
Caden Ours stepped up with 17 points, scoring 12 of his total after halftime, but he was the lone Viking in double figures after Metheny was held to nine.
“Grayson is easily one of the best athletes in the area, and he’s just so competitive,” Furey said. “His physical strength and quickness helps us a tremendous amount, to be able to take somebody off the board.”
Lambka matched Dawson with a season-high 15 points on the other end, much of which came off second-chance opportunities.
McGreevy led all scorers with 21 points, finding a soft spot in Petersburg’s 2-3 zone and pulling down a bevy of offensive boards in his own right.
Keyser took advantage of Petersburg’s lack of post presence. The undersized Vikings play a five-out offense with five guards and struggled to box out the larger Golden Tornado in their zone defense.
“I can assure you that they doubled us up in offensive rebounds,” Berg said. “Their size gave us a lot of problems and we didn’t have an answer for it tonight. I give Scott and them a lot of credit. They deserve it.”
Petersburg will look to regroup at Pendleton County on Friday night.
Keyser has an opportunity for some revenge, as the Golden Tornado host Mineral County rival Frankfort (9-6) on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Frankfort won the first meeting, 57-52, which served as Keyser’s lone defeat in its last seven games.
“We’re excited,” Furey said. “We’re looking for a big crowd on Friday night to hopefully try to get some redemption.”