By Greg Carey
WV MetroNews
Photos by Heather Belcher, WVSSAC
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — East Hardy’s 6-foot-8 junior Gideon Good picked up three first-half fouls that limited him to 7 minutes of playing time over the first two quarters in Tuesday’s Class A quarterfinal against Parkersburg Catholic.
Although Good wound up fouling out, he was on the floor for more than 12 minutes in the second half and more than made his presence felt to finish with 24 points and 12 rebounds, paving the way for the fourth-seeded Cougars to defeat the No. 5 Crusaders 63-49 inside the Charleston Coliseum.
“The first half, I kind of got out rhythm,” Good said. “The second half, coaches said go straight up, stay vertical. I tried to do what I can do, control what I can control and it went a lot better.”
Good was effective when playing in the first half, totaling seven points and six rebounds, but playing only 2 minutes in the second quarter after picking up the third foul.
That helped partially explain a better second frame for PCHS (21-4), which cut a 13-8 deficit after one quarter to 23-20 at halftime.
Luke Anderson’s three-pointer for the first points of the second half allowed Catholic to pull even, and when Leonardo D’Angelo scored from close range at the 6:48 mark of the third quarter, the Crusaders led.
PCHS had a 27-25 lead 2 minutes into the second half, before the Cougars (21-4) countered with the most important stretch of the matchup, rattling off 14 unanswered points to gain separation and a lead for good.
Good accounted for the first bucket of that run, while Evan Hamilton had the next two, one of which was a trey.
Good then took over with seven points over 1:13, making two field goals and three free throws to leave his team with a 39-27 advantage.
“We’d have done that in the first half if he’d have stayed out of foul trouble,” Cougars’ coach Chris Hahn said. “That was absolutely the game plan. The idea was to get it deep to Gideon. We thought the way they were running us off the three-point line, we could get downhill and get it to Gideon some.”
Anderson’s three just before time expired in the third enabled Catholic to trail 43-34 with 8 minutes left.
“They had a good run at us and their run caused us to buckle down on defense,” Hahn said. “We sort of turned it up and that was probably the difference. We kicked it in gear and turned them over a few times.”
The Crusaders twice got as close as seven in the final period, but after the second occasion, EHHS held PCHS without a field goal for nearly 5 minutes.
When the Crusaders got their next bucket on a Branson Lott layup, their deficit was 55-42 with 1:29 remaining.
“We thought all week if we were in the game at half, we’d be fine,” Crusaders’ coach Jim McLean said. “Thought we matched up well with them. We let them do what they do well. We knew they were going to try to run us off the three-point line.
“We just didn’t take care of the ball very well, but it’s a situation where it’s easy to get sped up mentally. This is a spot none of them have been in before. Making mistakes is a part of basketball. We got a little loose and got in a little bit of foul trouble, too. Sometimes it’s hard to get through that stuff at the state tournament. It’s a learning experience for me and them.”
About the only negative in the second half for the Cougars was the loss of Mason Hamilton, who exited with an apparent knee injury at the 1:41 mark of the fourth quarter. He missed the start of the season as a result of surgery on his patellar tendon in August and Hahn is adamant his team’s 16-game win streak is largely a byproduct of Hamilton’s return.
“We don’t go on this run without getting him back,” Hahn said.
Good made 10-of-16 shots and 4-of-5 free throws.
“It’s a whole lot easier playing with your 6-8 center,” Evan Hamilton said.
Mason Hamilton was a second double-figure scorer in the win with 15 points.
The Cougars had a 41-29 rebounding edge, including 19-9 on the offensive end despite shooting nearly 6 percent better from the field. Joseph Price added eight boards in the win.
“We really rely on our rebounding,’ Hahn said. “It also makes our shooters shoot more freely having Joseph and Gideon in there rebounding, and both of them are so good rebounding and read the ball really well. They’re unselfish, but if they have a good shot, they take it fearless, because you have some guys in there that are going to clean it up if you happen to miss one.”
Anderson led the Crusaders with 15 points and Preston Randolph scored 13 in defeat.
Parkersburg Catholic finished with 19 turnovers and 17 field goals.
“Parkersburg Catholic is a brand and what they’ve done the last three years to bring that back, I don’t really have the words for,” McLean said. “It’s going to hurt for a while, but that’s the way it is as a senior.”
The Cougars advance to play Greater Beckley Christian in what marks their third straight season qualifying for a state semifinal.
