By Gaylen Duskey
realfang@citlink.net
Senior laden Braxton County took a close game and blew it apart in the
second half by as Calhoun was once again bitten by its old nemesis -
personal fouls.
Braxton led by only 15 at the half - 40-25 - but poured it on the Red Devils
in the second half after four Calhoun starters got in foul trouble early in
the third quarter. With the starters on the bench Braxton rolled to the
93-43 victory.
Calhoun scored first and led the Eagles for a period of time before falling
behind by four, 15-11, at the end of the first period. The Red Devils
continued to dog the Eagles in the second period but was down by 15 at the
half.
In the first half the Red Devils got a strong effort from Jacob Dodd, who
scored 11 points including three three-point goals.
But Dodd, along with starters Josh DeWeese and Andrew Norman and reserve
Kyle Keesler all picked up their fourth fouls in the third as Braxton broke
the game open with a 30-10 advantage to go on top 70-35 at the end of three.
Then the Eagles opened up a three-point barrage - eight in all - to further
batter the depleted Red Devils.
Before the game ended DeWeese, Dodd, Lucas Morford and Keesler all fouled
out as Braxton made good on 25 of 39 free throws. Calhoun hit nine of 20.
Freshman Zach Moore led the Red Devils with 24 points. He also added 13
rebounds, three assists and two steals. Dodd backed him with 11 points while
Norman added eight, all from the free throw line.
Calhoun's other double-digit scorer, DeWeese, was shut out. Ironically
Braxton shut DeWeese out when the two teams played earlier. DeWeese did
contribute with seven rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots. Dodd
also got into the shot-blocking act with three blocks.
All-state candidate Josh Cadle with 24 led Braxton while Coty Riffle added
12 and Cord Metz 11.
Braxton won the junior varsity game by a 65-28 count as Kyle Warner scored a
game-high 33 points for the Eagles.
Greg Myers led Calhoun with seven while Harold McCumbers and Chuck Kendall
added six apiece. Justin Gerwig chipped in with four while Keesler added
three and Antony Richards two. Cai Clothier played but did not score.
Kendall and McCumbers had eight rebounds each.
Calhoun will try once again for the elusive first win when it plays host to
Clarksburg Notre Dame in a doubleheader Tuesday night.
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