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Weir tops Bears in playoff basketball

RIVALRY GAME — Oak Glen’s Jeff Rice dribbles between Weir’s Lyric Washington and LaVelle Hall. (Mike Mathison)

NEW MANCHESTER — Mike Granato and Jerry Everly said the same thing.

“We made our shots,” said Granato, longtime head coach of the Red Riders’ boys basketball team.

“They made their shots and we didn’t,” said Everly, in his third season with the Golden Bears.

LaVelle Hall and Matt Anderson combined for 55 points as Weir High defeated host Oak Glen, 75-62, Saturday evening inside the Bears’ Den in West Virginia Class AA Region 1, Section 1 action.

The victory gives the 6-17 Red Riders a date with No. 1-state ranked Fairmont Senior Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Fairmont Armory.

“We had a lot of nights this year (12) we didn’t have 55, let alone two guys,” Granato said. “This was a great team win. We reversed the ball and hit the open shots. Therefore, we kept reversing the ball and we kept hitting shots. And, our guys recognized the hot shooter and got him the ball.”

Hall scored 10 points in the first quarter as the visitors took a 19-17 lead after eight minutes and led 32-31 at halftime.

The Red Riders came out and scored the first nine points of the second half and the Golden Bears never got over the hump after that.

“They took it to us and put us on our heels a little bit,” Everly said. “Our kids kept battling back and working hard. But, then you start pressing a little bit, press a little bit with your shot and trying to do too much on both ends of the floor.

“It came down to the fact they hit their shots, they played very well and they deserved to win.”

Oak Glen (11-12) pressed back in the third period and was down 51-47 going into the final period.

But, Hall scored the first five points of the period for a 56-47 lead at the 6:52 mark and Every called a timeout.

Logan Taylor inched the Bears closer with a bucket to make it 58-52, but Hall buried another trey, Nick Krutilla scored and Anderson found the net and it was 65-52 with 3:29 showing.

“It felt like we were chasing the whole second half, and trying to score five points instead of two or three,” Everly said. “It comes from guys pressing and trying to make plays and make shots.

“It felt like we were trying to do too much at times. And, that probably falls on me for not settling them down enough and getting them to take better shots.

“I thought we scored enough tonight to win, but we gave up 75 and we didn’t do that much this year (twice). We struggled defensively.”

Noah Feicht canned two freebies and Jeff Rice swished a jumper to make it 65-57 with 2:26 remaining and Granato called a timeout.

Hall hit another bucket and Anderson made one two trips down the court later and it was 69-57.

“At the end of the day, you have to finish and execute and we did that tonight,” Granato said. “Our kids moved the ball extremely well. Matt and LaVelle had the hot hands and the kids got the ball to them. When we did that we gained some confidence.

“I told the kids before the game that tournament games are always won because guys step out of their zone. Somebody, in one way shape or form, steps out of their zone. They get more rebounds, they score more points — whatever it may be.

“Tonight, that was LaVelle. He squared up, knocked shots down and was confident.”

The Red Riders started the season 0-11 and are 6-6 in their last dozen starts.

“A big reason for our success is the two guys sitting next to me,” Granato said of assistant coaches Tim Murray and Brooke graduate Anthony Santangelo. “Tim is a former head coach (at Wirt County) and Anthony brings a young, enthusiasm to the gym.”

Hall added 13 of his game-high 30 points in the Red Riders’ 24-point final period. Anderson tallied 16 of his 25 in the second half.

Rice paced Oak Glen with 21 points. Taylor added 17 and Feicht a dozen. The Bears lose seven seniors to graduation — Rice, Taylor, Feicht, Shane Theiss, Marques McHaffie, Dustin Conner and Andy Gonzalez.

“We’re excited about the win,” Granato said. “We’re playing our best basketball at the time of year you’re supposed to play your best basketball.

“But, we have a tall task Tuesday with Fairmont Senior.”

Weir 75, Oak Glen 62

Weir 19 13 19 24 — 75

Oak Glen 17 14 16 15 — 62

WEIR: Hall 12 2-3 30, Anderson 9 4-6 25, Mikula 2 1-2 6, Krutilla 3 0-1 6, Faulks 2 0-0 4, Washington 2 0-2 4, Gresko 0 0-0 0, Hudacheck 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 30 7-14 75. 3-pointers: Hall 4, Anderson 3, Mikula.

OAK GLEN: Rice 7 2-2 21, Taylor 6 4-5 17, Feicht 5 2-2 12, Travis 3 2-2 8, Kokoski 1 0-0 2, McHaffie 1 0-1 2. TOTALS: 23 10-12 62. 3-pointers: Rice 5, Taylor.

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