— KEYSER, W.Va. — A defensive change shut down the inside game for Braxton County and allowed Keyser to make up a 5-point deficit at the beginning of the fourth quarter to win 45-39 and send the Golden Tornado into the West Virginia Class AA State Tournament for the first time in four years.
Peyton Hartman was Keyser’s leading scorer with 13 points and he added four rebounds and three steals. Wes Washington did a little of everything by scoring 11 points to go with seven assists, five rebounds and two steals. R.C. Pratt contributed with 10 points.
Pratt and Washington came up big at the foul line for the Tornado in the fourth. After going 0-for-5 from the free throw line in the first three quarters, Pratt was 3-for-5 and Washington was 2-for-4 in the fourth.
It was the defensive side, though, that changed the momentum for Keyser. It led 12-9 following the first quarter, but Braxton’s James Chapman had eight of his 15 points in the second half to help his team take a 26-19 lead into halftime. After deciding to double Chapman on the inside in the third quarter, Keyser slowed the Braxton offense to just 13 points in the second half. Chapman’s only points in the fourth quarter came off of a pair of foul shots.
The 13-10 Golden Tornado will now wait to see who their first round opponent will be when they resume play on Wednesday at the Charleston Civic Center.
The last Keyser team to play in the state tournament was the 2005-2006 team which lost to eventual champion Ravenswood by three points in the quarterfinals.
Frankfort 63
Grafton 56
GRAFTON, W.Va. — Three players scored in double figures to lead Frankfort over Grafton and to the West Virginia Class AA tournament next week in Charleston at the Civic Center.
The Falcons did their damage from beyond the three-point line and at the free-throw line, hitting eight threes and going to 23-of-28 on foul shots.
Logan Wolford, who was 14-of-16, finished with 20 points. Robbie Heltzel, with four threes and a perfect six attempts on free throws, finished with 18 and Darian Martz, also with four threes, scored 13.
Dusty Myers led the Falcons with 12 rebounds. He added eight points and had four blocks.
“The boys were up to the task,” said Frankfort head coach Scott Slider. “They came out to play. We were knocking down some threes to start the game.
“This was one of the smartest games we’ve played all season,” Slider said. “Despite the extra intensity and pressure, we controlled the clock when we needed to and scored on the fast breaks when we got them.”
Grafton’s Ralph Bolyard led the Bearcats with a game-high tying 20 points. Adam Ware added 11 and Seth Elsey finished with 10.
The Falcons never trailed, leading 23-13 and 33-26 in the first half and they took a 10-point, 46-36, lead into the final period.
Grafton falls to 15-7.
Frankfort improves to 13-10 and will begin tournament play Wednesday against an opponent to be determined.
