Meadow Bridge 52,

Paden City 41

In the Third Annual Hometown Invitational (HIT), Paden City raced out to a 6-2 first quarter lead and had a 12-2 advantage before the Meadow Bridge Wildcats went on a 9-1 run to close the gap at 13-11 at the break. They went on to win back-to-back Division II HIT titles over Paden City with a come-from-behind 52-41 victory Feb. 7 in Summersville, W.Va.

The ‘Cats’ Kennedy Cain was the only Wildcat in double figures with 18 points, while teammate Zach Heasley netted nine points and grabbed eight rebounds, made two steals, and dished out three assists.

In addition, Luke Cooper tallied eight points and pulled down eight rebounds, while Drew Bidwell contributed six points and dished out three assists. Heasley was voted the ‘Cats’ MVP of the game.

Hundred 53,

Montcalm 49

Hundred Hornet Rusty Morris tallied a game-high 30 points, while earning a double-double with 15 rebounds and blocking six Montcalm shots to lead Hundred to a hard-fought 53 to 49 victory Saturday morning to open the HIT tournament.

In the opening period, Morris tallied 11 of the team’s 14 points, including a basket from beyond the arc, to keep pace with Montcalm’s 14 tallies in the period.

In the second frame, the Hornets scored four more points than Montcalm to take a 23-18 advantage at the break.

Morris picked it up a notch and netted 12 of the Hornets’ 18 points to give Hundred an 11-point lead heading into the final period. Chris Varner and Brandon Armstrong tallied nine of the team’s 12 points, while Morris tickled the twine three times from the charity stripe to give Hundred its third win of the season.

Besides Morris’ heroics, freshman Andrew King netted seven markers, three rebounds, and made one steal, while Chris Varner added six points, two steals, and dished out three assists.

In addition, Brandon Armstrong contributed five points, while Kirk Shriver was held to a season-low one point. But, he grabbed seven boards, four assists, and made a steal.

Valley Fayette 58, Valley Lumberjacks, 52

It’s not always how you start the game, but how you finish the game. The Valley Lumberjacks raced out to a 12-2 lead to start the game, but the Fayetteville Pirates closed out with a 15-5 run in the final stanza to claim 15th place in Division I finals in Summersville Feb. 8 by the score of 58-52.

The Lumberjacks built a 20-12 advantage after one period of play and held on to a 33 to 27 lead at the break. The Pirates tallied one more basket than Valley, before exploding on a 15-5 run in the final period, where the ‘Jacks only scored five free throws.

Jack Wells paced the Lumberjacks with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Triston Kocher earned a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Troy Hubbard earned the team’s MVP with eight markers, while Hayden Lancaster and Trey Streets tally seven and six points, respectively.

Valley 63, Doddridge 77

The Lumberjacks’ Triston Kocher tallied a double-double, 20 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough for Valley to get by Doddridge 77-63 in a H.I.T. semi-final matchup in Doddridge Feb. 7.

The Bulldogs took a 20-13 lead after one period of play and extended its advantage to 36-24 at the break, before Valley went on a 24-18 run to close the gap to 53-48 with eight minutes remaining in the game.

However, Doddridge finished with a 23 to 15 run to get the nod.

Trey Streets followed Kocher with 14 markers, that included a pair of long range triples, while Hayden Lancaster netted 13 points and made three assists. In addition, Troy Hubbard tacked on seven points, including a three-ball, while Jack Wells contributed six points and hauled in four rebounds. Peyton Palmer tallied a deuce, while Joey Preat swished a charity stripe.