By Gaylen Duskey
realfang@citlink.net
CMS loses heartbreaking OT game at Ritchie
It was a tough, frustrating and bizarre game.
It had a little bit of everything including the winning points being scored by a player who should have actually fouled out of the game. It had a bloody nose. It had a late start. It had drama and excitement and in the end it had frustration for the Red Devils as Ritchie County scored a 33-32 overtime victory.
In the overtime period Cruz Hayes scored a basket and was fouled. He made the free throw which put Ritchie ahead and actually set the final score.
But at that time Hayes had five personal fouls on him and should not have been in the contest. He was one of two Ritchie players who were on the court at the end of the game with five personal fouls, according to a check of the score book after the game. But the officials were not notified in a timely manner that either of the two players had fouled out so they both continued playing.
Hayes' playing status would have been a moot point, however, if the Red Devils, 7-6, had any success from the free throw line in overtime. Calhoun tried six free throws and missed all six. One good free throw would have tied things up and two would have won it.
The game was bizarre from the start.
Game time was supposed to be at 6 p.m. but the start was delayed by the finals of a girls invitational tournament -- the Wirt County Invitational. That game (Ritchie beat Paden City for the title) did not finish until about 7:15 p.m.
Then the Calhoun B team played the Ritchie B team.
Ritchie jumped out to a 26-0 lead and coasted to an easy 53-7 victory.
When the "A" game got under way it was a very physical slam-bang affair which saw the Red Devils leading scorer and rebounder Tyler Gerwig taken to the lockerroom with a bloody nose following being inadvertently struck in the face.
Despite being sidelined for a long period of time Gerwig led Calhoun with 10 points and 18 rebounds.
Tyler Sims, playing despite fighting off the flu, led the Red Devils' scoring with 13 points. Kirkland Allen added four while Lucas Wilson had three while Tyler Tanner two. Sam Brady, who had missed several practices with the flu, played but did not score.
Dustin Miller (the other player with five fouls) and Seth Cottrill led Ritchie, 11-7, with eight each.
In the B game Nick Watkins led the way with three points while Jerry Jones and Chris Thornton had two each. Chris Kirkland, Ethyn Miller , Riley Cain, Dustin Turner, Robby Lamp, Austin Bailey, Nick Murphy, Austin Gribble and Kyle Farrell all played but did not score.
Miller led the Red Devils, 0-13, with six rebounds while Bailey added four more.
Calhoun returns to action at home tonight against Braxton County in a Central West Virginia Athletic Conference game before going on the road to Clay County Thursday night in another CWVAC contest.
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