Indians Fall to Morgantown 64-39 in Class AAAA Quarterfinals at State Tournament in Charleston
By Chris Johnson on March 14, 2023
In a regular-season meeting, the Bridgeport High School boys basketball team did what few others have done against Morgantown, the top-ranked team in Class AAAA all year long.
On Valentine’s Day, the Indians lost 70-66 to the Mohigans to become one of just three in-state schools to be within double digits of Morgantown.
Sha-Ron Young, Morgantown’s dynamic junior point guard missed that regular-season game against Bridgeport with an injury.
He did not miss the two school’s rematch on Tuesday in quarterfinal matchup in the state tournament at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. And his presence was felt immediately and often as the Mohigans cruised past the Indians, 64-39, into the Class AAAA semifinals where they will face either Huntington or South Charleston on Thursday.
Young, who actually missed eight games down the stretch of the regular season with a broken finger and returned briefly in the team’s co-regional victory against Buckhannon-Upshur, finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists against Bridgeport.
But he was even more of a facilitator on defense.
“They flat out took it to us on defense,” Bridgeport coach Dave Marshall said. “The stat sheet says we had 14 turnovers but man it felt like we had 24.
“I was more concerned about Sha-Ron being back on defense because he is such a great player, he elevates everyone around him and he plays so smart and he is usually guarding your point guard which makes it hard to even get into your offense.
“I told Sha-Ron before the game, I was glad to see him back out there, I just wish he would have waited one more game.”
Marshall also pointed out the fact that Morgantown’s 6-foot-6 Cam Danser’s defense on the Tribe’s leading scorer, Anthony Spatafore was another huge part of the Mohigans’ defensive effort.
Danser’s length made it tough for Spatafore to get many clean looks at the basket. He finished with 12 points but shot just 5-of-19 from the floor.
“That length, plus they filled all the gaps against Anthony,” Marshall said. “They did their homework, they know what he does for us.”
The Mohigans built a quick 9-2 lead but the Indians cut it to a three-point deficit after an Anthony Spatafore basket and a layup from Ashton Curry.
Morgantown pushed its lead to 19-8 before Rowen Michaelis hit a 3 to make it 19-11.
Phoenix Sickles came off the bench to score five straight for the Tribe and Curry hit a pull-up jumper that got the Indians within nine at 27-18 with 2:38 left in the first half.
Young responded with a layup and the Mohigans led by double digits the rest of the way.
“It felt good to be back out there with my teammates,” Young said. “It was hard for me to just watch.”
Brody Davis had a game-high 20 points to lead Morgantown. He added seven rebounds and six assists. Izzy Everett and Garrison Kisner added nine and eight points, respectively, for Morgantown.
Spatafore added five rebounds and three assists to go along with his 12 points. Curry finished with six points, while Landon Sanders, Sickles and Michaelis all had five points. Rounding out the scoring for the Indians was Ben Bifano with four and Zach Ayoob with two.
“I thought our defense was outstanding,” Morgantown coach Dave Tallman said. “Sha-Ron being out there makes a huge difference for us of course. But Bridgeport is a good team, and they got our attention with what they did to us in the regular season. We responded and hopefully we can win two more down here."
Editor's Note:Curry is guarded by Young in top photo, middle photo shows Spatafore bringing the ball up the court and in bottom photo, Ayoob looks to get around Morgantown's Jacob King. Photos by Joe LaRocca.
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