By Carl Holcomb
Silence fell over the Hive as time stood still at zero with the Yellow Jackets on the verge of an overtime win against the Indians.
The scene was set as Moorefield Boys Basketball senior Brock Linville stepped up to the charity stripe with a deadlocked contest pushing the first miss out of mind before drilling the second attempt sending the Hive into chaos with a 32-31 overtime victory over the Indians.
A foul on a perimeter shot at the buzzer would transpire into a blessing.
Linville was calm, cool and collected with a slight chuckle after missing the first attempt.
The crowd gasped and fell silent again, then Linville made the shot heard around the Mountain State lifting the Yellow Jackets to winning grace exclaiming ‘ball game’ as the Hive erupted in celebration.
“I was thinking I got three chances to make it and I better make one. I wasn’t too nervous, like clockwork. It was exciting. The ball was in the middle of the air and the gym was quiet and all of a sudden everyone was cheering. It was a great feeling and to do it with all the students here,” Moorefield senior Brock Linville remarked.
“The defense was definitely a big part of the game for both teams. It was a low scoring game. Both teams are good, but whoever just has the final push wins that game.”
Finding a friend at the free throw line is just what Moorefield needed and became clutch in the end twice.
Matthew Iman netted his team leading 10th point at the stripe with a minute left in regulation ushering the Yellow Jackets into the extra frame before it was capped off by Linville walking the line once more.
There were a plethora of opportunities left out on the court as the defensive pressure by both teams was relentless with Moorefield finding the resolve to win.
“That was a good defensive game. I think Berkeley Springs was 6-3 coming in here and we knew they were a good defensive team. We matched their intensity defensively. We made some big shots down the stretch. We had two freshmen who were big for us tonight, then Brock sealed it with the foul shot which was nice. We got embarrassed on Saturday, so to come back refocused and to regroup and play the way we did with lockdown defense was good to see from them,” Moorefield coach Scott Stutler commented.
Berkeley Springs commenced the game with three errant shots as Moorefield coach Scott Stutler bellowed to his team to ‘get a rebound’.
After the ball went awry out of bounds for each team, Moorefield listened to the coach as Jackson Helmick corralled a defensive carom.
The ball was jarred loose as Matthew Iman tracked it down and was tied up for a jump ball.
Shawn Reed netted a jumper and crashed backwards to the floor along with the defender as the Yellow Jackets took the initial 2-nil lead at 6:01.
It took a full minute before the Indians responded in the paint with a shot by Landon Stotler.
Berkeley Springs collected a defensive rebound leading to a field goal.
Linville tied the game on a putback at 4:14.
Jake Aulabaugh put the Indians back on top during the ensuing series with a 3-pointer.
Moorefield’s Kail Greenwalt netted a jumper with three minutes left in the opening frame, 7-6.
Approximately a minute elapsed prior to a baseline basket by Kyle Moore extended the Indians lead.
Greenwalt added a pair of free throws as the Yellow Jackets closed the gap 9-8 entering the second period.
Berkeley Springs added four points in the first three minutes of the second stanza including a trifecta by Brennan Hoover, despite hitting the rim three times and losing the ball twice (Iman steal).
Moorefield committed two fouls and lost the ball once during that stretch without locating the rim.
Both teams hit the rim, then Iman drew a foul on a block attempt and made one free throw to end the run at 4:17, 13-9.
Linville intercepted a pass and notched the breakaway layup, then the Yellow Jackets forced another turnover out of play.
Moorefield’s Cyrus Kump drilled a game tying jumper off an inbound assist from Edison Metheny with just under two minutes to go in the half, 13-all.
Linville swiped the ball, but Moorefield failed to connect thrice even after rebounds by Iman and Reed.
A walk by the Indians turned into a Moorefield miss as the game remained tied at halftime, 13-all.
Reed made a brilliant pass to Iman, who completed an old-fashioned three-point play to start the third period ushering the Yellow Jackets to a 16-13 edge within 11 seconds of action.
Berkeley Springs scored on the next possession with a putback by Kyle Moore.
After a Moorefield walk, the Indians took a 17-16 lead on a layup by Sammy Stotler at 6:57.
Both teams missed shots with the latter sending players crashing to the floor scrambling after the ball.
Iman and Reed toppled over Landon Stotler as Iman corralled the ball.
Stotler was irate being rolled upon and struggled to get free expressing his anger to the extent a technical foul was assessed.
Helmick made one of the free throws as Moorefield tied the game at 17-all at 6:06.
Landon Stotler made a leaping baseline rebound save, then Helmick stole the ball before it was snatched back by Brennan Hoover.
The Indians fumbled the ball away moments later.
Iman grabbed an offensive carom and sank a jumper to regain the lead, 19-17 at 4:40.
Both teams missed several field goals over the ensuing three minutes.
Metheny tipped a rebound to Kump, who crashed into the paint losing control of the ball, but the defender stepped out of bounds upon reception.
Reed gained a baseline layup with 54 seconds left in the third frame for a 21-17 lead.
Berkeley Springs answered with a 3-pointer by Sammy Stotler with 31 ticks on the clock, 21-20.
Kump leapt to save a rim ricochet from trickling out and found Helmick for a 3-pointer with five seconds remaining to take a 24-20 advantage into the fourth period.
The Indians began the frame with a 7-0 run including a perimeter shot by Sammy Stotler, while Moorefield would miss three shots and commit two turnovers during that stretch.
The Yellow Jackets snapped out of the funk as Iman drilled a trey to lock up the contest 27-all at 5:12.
Metheny and Kump created steals over the ensuing minute, but Moorefield failed to find the net.
Berkeley Springs followed suit with the same predicament forcing a pair of turnovers and drawing iron.
The Indians forced a walk, then Kyle Moore drew a foul and made one bucket on the line for a 28-27 lead with 1:31 remaining.
Iman was met with contact on the next series and tied the game on the line with 1:07 to go.
The Indians collected the rebound and stalled for the final errant shot as the game would head to overtime deadlocked at 28-all.
Time allotment for overtime was only four minutes.
Both teams came up empty twice and committed one turnover apiece during the first two minutes and change of extra time.
Iman hauled in a rebound and fed Metheny for a lead snatching perimeter bucket with 1:35 left, 31-28 with the student section shouting he is just a freshman.
Berkeley Springs kept its possession alive with a rebound and Jake Aulabaugh knocked down a game-tying 3-pointer with 43 seconds remaining.
Coming out of a timeout, Moorefield worked the ball around the top of the key before a foul with 11 seconds left.
Linville launched a perimeter shot at the buzzer and simultaneously drew a foul as the ball ricocheted away.
Linville stepped to the line and the rest was history sealing the second shot to claim the 32-31 overtime win.
“There were too many peaks and valleys in that game. It was back-and-forth all night. It was a good defensive game, but we made too many turnovers. Moorefield is a good team and made the baskets when it counted in the end,” Berkeley Springs coach Chad Brinegar concluded.
Berkeley Springs was paced by Sammy Stotler with 10 points.
In JV action, Moorefield triumphed over the Indians 39-28 led by Reid Kump and Lucas Stutler with nine points apiece.
Moorefield kept the momentum going on a trip to Short Gap collecting a 48-47 win over Ridgeley aka Frankfort.
