SPORTS

TIMES WEST VIRGINIAN WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016

WVUs Orlosky knows what hes talking about

Page 2B

Montgomerys historic night leads

WVU women past Morehead State
BY BOB HERTZEL
FOR THE TIMES WEST VIRGINIAN

MORGANTOWN You start

doing things that West Virginia
University Hall of Fame inductee
Georgeann Wells did and you are walking with pretty good company, and
thats just what Lanay Montgomery did
at the Coliseum on Wednesday night.
The 6-foot, 5-inch West Virginia center from Pittsburgh led the Mountaineers
to a 94-53 victory over Morehead State
by scoring 23 points, grabbing 18
rebounds and blocking six shots

Montgomery was only the second

woman to score at least 20 points with
at least 18 rebounds and six blocks in
school history, a feat Wells accomplished when she scored 35 to go with
19 rebounds and eight blocks against
Marshall on Dec. 22, 1984.
Wells was one of the greatest big
players in WVU womens basketball
history, holding the team record with
436 blocks while scoring 1,484 points
and hauling in 1,675 rebounds.
I heard a lot about Georgeann Wells,
Montgomery said after the game.
People have told me a lot about her.

Wells, of course, is most famous as the

first woman to dunk in a basketball game.
Montgomery sat out most of the fourth
quarter, keeping her from having a 20-20
double-double in points and rebounds
and maybe even a triple double.
The victory was the Mountaineers
eighth in a row of the new season and
did not come against a pushover opponent with Morehead State owning a 5-2
PHOTO BY TAMMY SHRIVER
record coming in with Western WVUs Lanay Montgomery goes up
Michigan and Miami of Ohio num- for a shot during an exhibition
bered among their victims.
matchup against Concord earlier
SEE WVU, PAGE 3B

this season at Robert C. Byrd High

School.

Supporting stars

Polar Bears defensive role players allow teams headline names to thrive
Caleb Walker

BY SEAN MCNAMARA
TIMES WEST VIRGINIAN

FAIRMONT It takes a team to

win a title.
The Fairmont Senior Polar Bears
know it, and a common concept heard
around the locker room, and relayed
Tuesday by linebacker Michael
Toothman is that the team is 11 players doing 11 jobs.
The Polar Bears have headline play-

Rhett Heston

ers, sure. Whether its Toothman cutting

down ball carriers as they cross the line
of scrimmage, Zach Frazier and Darius
and Dante Stills wreaking havoc in the
backfield or Jake Abbott making plays
sideline to sideline, FSHS has the guys
it relies on to make a majority of plays.
Those players, however, would not
be able to fly around the field and
make stops defensively if it were not
for other key contributors to the team.
Linebacker Caleb Walker provides

Caleb Masters

one example of a role player who

serves as a key cog to the machine that
is the FSHS defense, a unit thats
allowing an average of 13 points per
game this season.
I keep the edge, Walker explained.
I have to seal the edge on defense and
not let anything outside of me.
With Walker responsible for one
edge, junior Caleb Masters handles the
other.
Just like (Walker), I have to keep

the edge, Masters said, so that the

linebackers and Dante and Darius can
get through and make plays. I make
sure nobody gets around me, and if
anyone goes into the flats, thats my
man to cover.
Walker echoed Masters statement,
saying that when the two players do
their job, it frees up Toothman and
Abbott to make plays.
SEE POLAR BEARS, PAGE 3B

Falcons rally back in OT Wheeling Jesuit holds

for dramatic win over off FSU women 53-48
No. 4-ranked Cardinals
FIGHTINGFALCONS.COM

FIGHTINGFALCONS.COM

WHEELING No. 11 Fairmont

State escaped with a win over No. 4
Wheeling Jesuit, 95-92, in a wild overtime game at the McDonough Center
on Wednesday night in a showdown of
nationally-ranked teams.
The win, coupled with a win by topranked West Liberty over Shepherd
(67-64) tonight, sets up another battle
of unbeaten teams on Sunday afternoon at Joe Retton Arena. The game
will be broadcast live on ASN and
Root Sports Pittsburgh at 4 p.m.
Wheeling Jesuit started quickly and
led by as many as 11 points in the first
half, but Fairmont State battled back
and managed to tie the game at halftime, 40-40. The Falcons ended the
opening half on a 21-10 scoring run to
send the game to the break with a
deadlocked score.
The game remained close for most
of the second half before a 12-1 run by
Fairmont State made it 75-61 with just
PHOTO BY BRADLEY HELTZEL
4:51 to go.
FSUs Matt Bingaya (2) goes up
SEE FALCONS, PAGE 3B

for a dunk against Findlay Nov. 15

at the Joe Retton Arena.

WHEELING Wheeling Jesuit

held off multiple comeback bids by
Fairmont State in the second half,
wrapping up a 53-48 victory over the
Falcons on Wednesday evening at
Wheelings McDonough Center.
The Falcons were outrebounded 4426 in the loss and made just 3-of-17
attempts from behind the arc (17.6 percent). The Falcons also managed just
36 percent from the field offensively
on 20-of-55 shooting.
Fairmont State (3-3, 1-2 MEC)
stayed within striking distance because
of a strong defensive performance,
forcing 23 Cardinal turnovers and
holding Wheeling under 40 percent
from the field as well.
The Falcons recorded 15 steals as a
team, getting four apiece from Emily
Puskarich and Makenzie White.
Puskarich paced the Falcons offensively with 20 points on 9-of-16 from
the field. Fairmont State also got nine
points from Amanda Ruffner and eight
points and seven rebounds from Deidra
Combs in the game.
Monica Burns hits five three-pointers and led the Cardinals (6-1, 3-0
MEC) with 19 points in the win. Jaana
Motton finished just shy of a double-

SCOREBOARD
CLASSIFIEDS
COMICS
ADVICE
TICKET

3B
4-5B
6B
7B
8B

BOB

HERTZEL
TWV SPORTS
COLUMNIST

WVU soccer
program built
differently
than most

MORGANTOWN Everyone
looks at the West Virginia
University womens soccer team
that is 180 minutes away from the
NCAA title and they see a parade of
high-profile imports, bronze medal
winners like Kadeisha Buchanan
and Ashley Lawrence from Canada,
goalkeeper Rylee Foster, who spent
the last couple of weeks playing
Junior World Cup soccer for
Canada, and thats all you see.
But it isnt all there is to this team
that Nikki Izzo-Brown started building 20 years ago in a closet as a firstyear coach in a first-year program, a
lady with a dream and plan but not
much money and not much in the
way of facilities to work with.
So how did it happen?
You can look at it many ways, but
perhaps the best is to look toward
goalkeeper Michelle Newhouse, a
junior from Pinch, West Virginia, and
Capital High.
She was behind the World
Cupper, Foster, but aiming all year
for her moment, a moment she
knew would come for Foster was
leaving the team for the stretch run,
the Big 12 Tournament and the
NCAA Tournament.
In many ways, she symbolizes
what this program is.
You know, Izzo-Brown was saying a couple of evenings ago on
media day as Newhouse sat across
the room, when she came here, she
couldnt even catch the ball.
Oh, cmon, was the reflex
response.
Like who with championship plans
recruits a goalie who couldnt catch
the ball.
No, really, Izzo-Brown said.
Hey, Newhouse, she shouted
across the room. Could you catch
the ball when you got here?
No, she replied sheepishly.
So how, you asked Izzo-Brown,
did she get to the point that last week
she was in goal to save five shots and
shut out Duke?
Howd you get to where you
could catch the ball? Izzo-Brown
called out to her.
You had me catching 50 to 100
balls a night, she replied.
That, in a way, was what this
whole program was about finding
talent, developing it, mixing it in
with the world-class players IzzoBrown convinced to come to
Morgantown and you had it.
Why, you asked, would she recruit
a goalie who was at such a stage of
SEE HERTZEL, PAGE 3B

GAMES TODAY

LOCAL

PREP SWIMMING
East Fairmont, North Marion at WVU
Natotorium, 7 p.m.

ON THE TUBE

PHOTO BY BRADLEY HELTZEL

FSUs Emily Puskarich shoots a 3pointer against Walsh Nov. 16 at

the Joe Retton Arena.

double with eight points and 10

rebounds to lead Wheeling on the
glass. Chenelle Moore also chipped in
nine for the Cards.
The Falcons will return home for a
1:30 p.m. tip against the Hilltoppers of
West Liberty on Sunday.

BASKETBALL
High School Showcase, Hamilton Heights
(Tenn.) vs. Memphis East (Tenn.), at
Memphis, Tenn., 9 p.m., (ESPN2)
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Columbia at Seton Hall, 7 p.m., (FS1)
Cincinnati at Iowa St., 9 p.m., (ESPN)
Oregon St. at Mississippi St., 9 p.m., (ESPNU)
Stephen F. Austin at Arkansas, 9 p.m., (SEC)
GOLF
European PGA Tour-Sunshine Tour, Alfred
Dunhill Championship, first round, at
Malelane, South Africa, 7:30 a.m., (GOLF)
PGA Tour, Hero World Challenge, first round,
at Albany, Bahamas, 1:30 p.m., (GOLF)
Australian PGA Championship, second round,
at Gold Coast, Australia, 8 p.m., (GOLF)
NBA BASKETBALL
L.A. Clippers at Cleveland, 8 p.m., (TNT)
Houston at Golden State, 10:30 p.m., (TNT)
NFL FOOTBALL
Dallas at Minnesota, 8:20 p.m., (NBC & NFL)
NHL HOCKEY
Pittsburgh at N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m., (ROOT)
WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL
South Carolina at Texas, 7 p.m., (ESPN2)
Oklahoma at Kentucky, 7 p.m., (SEC)

Falcons

With FSU leading by 14, the

Cardinals went on a 16-3 run
over the next three minutes to
get back within a point (78-77).
FSU remained in front down
the stretch before Jarin Hilson
knocked down a jumper with
18 seconds left to tie the game.
With just seconds remaining in
the second half, Matt Bingaya
dropped in a layup that would
have been the game-winning
basket, but a travel gave the
ball back to Wheeling with just
2.3 remaining.
WJU continued its momentum scoring the first four points
of overtime, but once again
Fairmont State turned things
around. Bingaya scored six
straight points for the Falcons
and helped them get the lead
back, 90-89, with 1:45 to go.
After Dominique Tham laid
one in for WJU, Jason Jolly
delivered a huge basket draining a three-pointer from well
behind the three-point line
with just under a minute left to
give FSU the lead for good at
93-91. Jolly would then hit
two more free throws in the
waning seconds to seal the 9592 win.
Bingaya finished with 28

WVU

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B

points (22 in the second half

and overtime), eight rebounds
and five assists to lead the
Falcons in the victory. He was
12-of-13 from the free throw
line and made 8-of-14 field
goal attempts. Thomas
Wimbush added 18 points and
six rebounds and Jolly ended
up with 13 points. Vonte
Montgomery came off the
bench and scored 14 for the
Falcons, all of which came in
the opening half.
Wheeling outshot Fairmont
State, 48-41 percent in the loss,
but turned the ball over 18
times. FSU committed just
eight turnovers on the evening.
The Cardinals also made just
five three-pointers in the game,
shooting a dismal 26 percent
from deep.
Five players reached double
figures for Wheeling Jesuit, led
by a 20-point, 14-rebound
effort
from
Haywood
Highsmith. Pat Moseh scored
17 points and dished out six
assists, Preston Boswell
notched 14 points and Hilson
and Tham each finished up
with 13 points apiece.
The game featured 16 lead
changes and six ties.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B

But Montgomery provided

too much inside firepower
while Tynice Martin added 17
points with six rebounds and
Teana Muldrow put up another
double-double with 18 points
and 13 rebounds.
It was the second straight
game in which Montgomery
and Muldrow had authored
double-doubles
Kristina King added 14
points for WVU.
WVUs defense again dominated, holding Morgan State to
just 29 percent from the floor,
the eighth straight opponent
held to less than 40 percent
shooting.
But in the end it was
Montgomery who placed her
stamp on this game.
Thank God for Lanay
Montgomery, WVU coach
Mike Carey said. She was the
reason we won this game.
Taking charge on the court is
what this team leader off the
court does. Mostly she does it
through her defense and
rebounding, although she has
become an aggressive scorer
this season.
Thats my role, she said of
the rebounding. If you dont
have the ball, Im getting it.
We have to have the ball.
Her increased role of a scorer was important in this game
because Martin hit only 7-of23 shots, far below her normal
game.
Coach Carey said before
the season I needed to score
more. I know what the team
needs and try to play hard and
give it all Ive got. But I dont
feel pressure to score. We have
a lot of scorers.
West Virginia came into the
game and found Morgan State
to be a pesky competitor. The
Mountaineers had trailed for
only seven of 280 minutes during their first seven games but
found themselves down 15-14
before figuring the Eagles out.
It was Montgomery who
turned matters around as she

Hertzel

had a half to remember, finishing with a double-double in

the first half with 14 points
and 14 rebounds to go with
four blocks.
From that moment when
they found themselves down a
point, she scored seven consecutive points and that sent
the Mountaineers off on a
solid run of points. After
outscoring Morehead 26-13 in
the second quarter, WVU into
halftime ahead 52-38.
After having problems stopping the Eagles in the first
quarter, during which
Morehead shot 41.2 percent,
the Mountaineers turned the
defensive screws and held the
Eagles to just five field goals
and 25 percent shooting in the
second quarter.
While Montgomery was
doing her thing, so was the
Big 12s leading scorer in
Martin, who came in averaging 21.6 points a game. She
finished the half with 11
points. King came off the
bench to add 10 on an impressive 5-of-7 shooting in the
half.
With Montgomery inside,
WVU had 30 first-half points
in the paint, much of it coming
due to a 35-17 rebounding
advantage that led to 17 second-chance points compared
to just three for the Eagles.
WVU also had its running
game working as it scored 10
first half points on fast breaks
while Morgan State did not get
a first-half fast break basket.
The third period was more
of the same as Montgomery
surpassed her season high in
points, getting to 20 to go with
17 rebounds and five blocks.
That
helped
the
Mountaineers keep everything
well in hand, leading 67-42
entering the games final 10
minutes.
From there, they just coasted to the victory.
Follow Bob Hertzel on
Twitter @bhertzel.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B

her development instead of

someone who, if nothing else,
could catch the ball?
She was willing to put the
work in, Izzo-Brown answered.
We felt she had the right mentality. She had the potential to do
whatever she wanted. She did
the work. Thats the thing. You
put them in an environment;
theyve got to do it.
I feel we developed a great
staff and structure, but at the end
of the day, they have to do the
work.
And that is wha has put them
on the doorstep of going head to
head with long-time NCAA
power North Carolina in the
Final Four on Friday.
Its a mix of raw gems, such
as Newhouse, and stars, such as
Buchanan. You understand what
would bring Newhouse upstate,
but what would bring Buchanan
and our northern neighbors
pouring across the border to play

SPORTS SCOREBOARD

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016 PAGE 3B

TIMES WEST VIRGINIAN

a a school whose NCAA profile

is not as one of the giants?
When Rylee came, theres a
world-class player, and
Kadeisha ... they just felt at
home, Izzo-Brown said. They
loved the staff; they loved the
people they met. Maybe its not
just about the trophies a school
has. Maybe its about their
development and how comfortable they would be.
Still, you have to sell them on
that.
If you are talking about
Kadeisha, Izzo-Brown said of
Buchanan, I was going to be
100 percent committed to
Keisha in the classroom and on
the playing field. I knew I needed to be another mother to
Keisha and to continue her
development to be the world
class player she is.
She stuck to that.
Follow Bob Hertzel on Twitter
@bhertzel.

MENS COLLEGE
BASKETBALL

Fairmont State 95, Wheeling Jesuit 92 (OT)

Fairmont State 95
Matt Bingaya 8-14 12-13 28, Thomas
Wimbush 7-18 0-0 18, Vonte Montgomery
6-10 1-1 14, Jason Jolly 4-19 3-4 13, D.J.
Stockman 3-5 1-2 8, Shammgod Wells 2-6
3-4 7, Trevor Andrews-Evans 2-4 1-2 5,
Steven Solomon 1-3 0-1 2, Andrew Emrick
0-1 0-0 0, Troy Cantrell 0-0 0-0 0, Ty
Dobson 0-0 0-0 0.
Wheeling Jesuit 92
Haywood Highsmith 7-9 6-8 20, Pat Moseh
5-11 6-10 17, Preston Boswell 4-8 5-6 14,
Dominique Tham 5-8 3-4 13, Jarin Hilson 515 2-2 13, Kyle Ritz 3-6 1-2 8, Chase
Lawson 2-4 0-0 5, Drake Goddard 1-5 0-0
2, Jordan Fair 0-0 0-0 0.

WOMENS COLLEGE
BASKETBALL

Wheeling Jesuit 53, Fairmont State 48

Wheeling Jesuit 53
Monica Burns 6-12 2-2 19, Chenelle Moore
4-10 1-1 9, Jaana Motton 3-7 2-2 8, Kylie
Frizell 2-7 2-2 6, Mariah Callen 2-7 0-0 4,
Chelsea Richardon 2-5 0-2 4, Taliah
Cashwell 1-1 0-0 3, Lauren Lipscomb 0-2
0-0 0, Khira Burton 0-1 0-0 0, Lydia Hyberg
0-0 0-0 0.

Steals: 8 (Muldrow 3, King 2, Ray 2, Pardee 1)

Technical Fouls: None.
FG FT Reb
Morehead St. (5-3) Min M-A M-AO-T A PFPTS
Bess
1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Byrd
23 1-5 2-4 0-0 1 1 5
Campbell
4 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 3 0
Crockett
31 6-11 6-7 2-4 1 4 18
Jackson
17 0-5 0-2 0-2 2 2 0
McKee
33 1-12 1-42-12 0 1 3
McQueen
20 3-14 1-2 0-5 0 1 7
St. Louis
1 1-1 0-1 1-1 0 0 2
Steele
28 7-10 1-1 3-6 1 3 15
Tate
6 0-2 1-2 0-0 0 0 1
Todd
21 1-6 0-0 1-5 0 2 2
Wells
15 0-2 0-0 1-2 2 5 0
Totals
200 20-6812-2314-43 7 22 53

Percentages: FG .294, FT .522.

3-Point Goals: 1-14, .071 (Byrd 1-3, Jackson 0-2, McKee
0-4, McQueen 0-2, Tate 0-1, Wells 0-2)
Blocked Shots: 2 (Crockett 1, Todd 1)
Turnovers: 18 (McQueen 6, Steele 3, Byrd 2, Crockett 2,
Jackson 2, McKee 2, Wells 1)
Steals: 10 (Byrd 2, Crockett 2, Jackson 2, McKee 2,
Todd 1, Wells 1)
Technical Fouls: None.
West Virginia
26 26 15 27 94
Morehead St.
15 13 14 11 53

.500
.389
.278

Yesterdays Games
N.Y. Islanders 5, Pittsburgh 3
Calgary 3, Toronto 0
San Jose at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.
Todays Games
Carolina at Boston, 7 p.m.
N.Y. Rangers at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Dallas at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
N.Y. Islanders at Washington, 7 p.m.
Florida at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.
Tampa Bay at St. Louis, 8 p.m.
Edmonton at Winnipeg, 8 p.m.
New Jersey at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
Columbus at Colorado, 9 p.m.
Los Angeles at Arizona, 9 p.m.
Anaheim at Vancouver, 10 p.m.
Tomorrows Games
Minnesota at Calgary, 9 p.m.
Montreal at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.

7
9
11

Yesterdays Games
Sacramento at Philadelphia, ppd.
Detroit 121, Boston 114
Toronto 120, Memphis 105
L.A. Lakers 96, Chicago 90
New York 106, Minnesota 104
Oklahoma City 126, Washington 115, OT
San Antonio 94, Dallas 87
Atlanta at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Miami at Denver, 9 p.m.
Indiana at Portland, 10 p.m.
Todays Games
Dallas at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Cleveland, 8 p.m.
Orlando at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Miami at Utah, 9 p.m.
Houston at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
Tomorrows Games
Orlando at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
Minnesota at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Sacramento at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Cleveland at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Detroit at Atlanta, 8 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Washington at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Houston at Denver, 10:30 p.m.

SPORTS BRIEFS

Thomas Greiss made 31 saves.

They led 3-0 after two periods.
Conor Sheary, Justin Schultz
and Evgeni Malkin scored in the
first 13:08 of the third period for
the Penguins. Murray finished
with 25 saves while starting for
the third time in four games.
The Islanders had not scored
more than two goals in their last
eight games including a 3-2,
14-round shootout win at
Anaheim on Nov. 22.
The Penguins came out
aggressive in the third and quickly got on the scoreboard when
Sheary knocked in a rebound
past Greiss 32 seconds in.
Phil Kessel had a breakaway a
minute later but was stoned by
Greiss.
Schultz pulled the Penguins

within one when he skated in

across the left faceoff circle and
fired a shot top shelf with 9:20
remaining. Malkin then tied it
with a wrister past Greiss 2:28
later with his ninth of the season.
The Islanders made it 2-0 at
2:10 of the second on a goal
credited to Chimera. Scott
Mayfield fired a shot from the
right slot and the puck bounced
off several players before hitting
Chimeras skate and off Murray
and slowly trickling over the line
before the goalie could stop it. It
was Chimeras second of the season.
Pittsburgh was called for two
penalties seconds apart about 8
minutes into the second. After
being whistled for too many men,
Matt Cullen was called for a

delay of game faceoff violation

for falling on the puck on the
ensuing faceoff. The Islanders
managed six shots on the 5-on-3,
including a diving a glove save
by Murray on a shot by Tavares
from the right side.
Cizikas made it 3-0 with 2:39
left in the second with his third of
the season. Andrew Ladd fired a
shot at the net and it deflected to
Cizikas who tipped it past
Murray from the left side.
Boychuk got the Islanders on
the scoreboard first, firing a slap
shot from outside the right faceoff circle into the left side of the
night on Murrays blocker side
with 13 seconds left in the opening period. It was Boychuks
third goal of the season, and first
since Oct. 23.

of understanding, which must be

ratified by both sides.
Its great! Another five years
of uninterrupted baseball,
Oakland catcher Stephen Vogt
said.
In announcing the agreement,
Major League Baseball said it
will make specific terms available when drafting is complete.
As part of the deal, the luxury
tax threshold rises from $189
million to $195 million next
year, $197 million in 2018, $206
million in 2019, $209 million in

2020 and $210 million in 2021,

a person familiar with the agreement told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition
of anonymity because the deal
had not yet been signed.
Tax rates increase to 20 percent for first offenders, 30 percent for second offenders and 50
percent for third offenders.
There also is a new surtax of 12
percent for teams $20 million to
$40 million above the threshold
and additional amounts for
teams more than $40 million

above the threshold.

There will be a new penalty
for signing certain free agents
that could affect a teams draft
order. There is no change to limits on active rosters, which
remain at 25 for most of the season and 40 from Sept. 1 on.
Management failed to obtain
an international draft of amateurs residing outside the U.S.,
Puerto Rico and Canada, but did
get a hard cap on each teams
annual bonus pool for those
players.

PRO BASKETBALL
NBA Standings

NEW YORK (AP) Anders

Lee scored the tiebreaking goal
with 27 seconds remaining to lift
the New York Islanders to a 5-3
victory over the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins on
Wednesday night.
Thomas Hickey fired a slap
shot from the point that deflected
off Lees stick and past goalie
Matt Murray to help the Islanders
recover after giving up a threegoal lead in the third period.
With Murray pulled on the
ensuing faceoff, Nikolay
Kulemin scored into the empty
net 3 seconds later to give the
Islanders consecutive victories
for the second time this season.
Johnny Boychuk, Jason
Chimera and Casey Cizikas also
scored for the Islanders, and

IRVING, Texas (AP)

Baseball players and owners
reached a tentative agreement on
a five-year labor contract
Wednesday night, a deal that
will extend the sports industrial
peace to 26 years since the
ruinous fights in the first two
decades of free agency.
After days of near round-theclock talks, negotiators reached
a verbal agreement about 3 1/2
hours before the expiration of
the current pact. Then they
worked to draft a memorandum

West Virginia (8-0)

Brewer
King
Martin
Martin
Montgomery
Muldrow
Pardee
Ray
Rhodes
Schmidt
Thomas
Totals

FG FT Reb
Min M-A M-AO-T A PFPTS
23 1-4 2-4 1-3 3 4 5
22 7-12 0-4 3-7 4 1 14
10 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 0
33 7-23 1-1 1-6 1 1 17
25 10-11 3-47-18 0 1 23
23 6-12 6-105-13 4 4 18
25 2-8 3-4 0-5 2 3 9
29 3-6 0-0 0-2 4 2 8
6 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
3 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 0
200 36-7615-2719-592019 94

10
11
13

NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss.

A1,179.
OfficialsTina Napier, Amy Bonner, Brian Garland.

Percentages: FG .474, FT .556.

3-Point Goals: 7-17, .412 (Martin 2-8, Pardee 2-4, Ray 23, Brewer 1-2)
Blocked Shots: 15 (Montgomery 6, King 3, Muldrow 3,
Rhodes 2, Martin 1)
Turnovers: 13 (Montgomery 3, Pardee 3, Brewer 2,
Martin 2, Ray 2, Muldrow 1)

No. 16 West Virginia 94, Morehead St. 53

10
7
5

ADVANCE TICKET SALES FOR STATE

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Tickets for Fridays Class AA state championship game are available for purchase for
$8 on WVSSAC.org. Tickets are also available at the Fairmont Senior High School
main office from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. today
and Thursday. Student tickets will cost $6
while adult tickets will cost $8. All tickets
purchased at the gate will cost $8.
PENN STATE JAMFEST TIP OFF
BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
The Penn State Jamfest tip off basketball tournament is for grades fifth thru eighth grades
December 16-18 held at Penn State Fayette
Eberly Campus located in Uniontown,
Pennsylvania. The team entry fee is $225. If registered and paid for by Dec. 8, all teams are guaranteed three games open to school, rec and travel
teams. Teams from Pennsylvania, Maryland and
West Virginia are expected to attend. For more
information contact Larry Haines 724-963-6087 or
by
email
jbthoops@yahoo.com
or
www.jbthoops.com to register or see future scheduled tournaments.
WEEKEND BBALL WORKOUTS OFFERED
West Virginia Reign Elites head coach Ronnie
Nuzum is offering Saturday and Sun basketball
workouts through AAU season. Contact Nuzum at
304-657-0954 or CoachNewz32@aol.com on
Twitter @WvReignHoops or the Reign Facebook
page for more information.
WEST VIRGINIA BURN ELITE BASKETBALL
West Virginia Burn Inc. elite basketball program
will have tryouts for players in third through eighth
grade. For more information contract Andrew
Smith at 304-676-0930 or at andrew@smithcpapllc.com.
WV REIGN BASKETBALL TRYOUTS
The West Virginia Reign basketball club will be
hosting tryouts for grades five through 11 and
unsigned seniors. NCAA live period events will be
included in elite schedule. Contact coach Ronnie
Nuzum at 304-657-0954 or email him at
CoachNewz32@aol.com or check out the Reign
on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
YOUTH SPORTS FEATURED
EACH TUESDAY
Area youth sports team photos will be featured
each Tuesday in the Times West Virginian. Photos
may be delivered at the corner of Quincy and
Ogden Streets in Fairmont, mailed to Times West
Virginian, Youth Sports, P.O. Box 2530, Fairmont,
WV 26555, or emailed to sports editor Sean
McNamara at smcnamara@timeswv.com.

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
W L
Toronto
12 6
Boston
10 8
New York
9
9
Brooklyn
5
12
Philadelphia
4
14
Southeast Division
W L
Charlotte
10 8
Atlanta
10 8
Orlando
7
11
Washington
6
11
Miami
5
12
Central Division
W L
Cleveland
13 3
Chicago
10 7
Milwaukee
8
8
Detroit
10 10
Indiana
9
9
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Southwest Division
W L
San Antonio
15 4
Houston
11 7
Memphis
11 8
New Orleans
7
12
Dallas
3
14
Northwest Division
W L
Oklahoma City
12 8
Utah
11 8
Portland
9
10
Denver
7
10
Minnesota
5
13
Pacific Division
W L
Golden State
16 2
L.A. Clippers
14 5

Fairmont State 48
Emily Puskarsich 9-16 0-1 20, Amanda
Ruffner 4-10 1-1 9, Deidra Combs 3-7 2-2
8, Gabrielle Etter 2-8 0-0 5, Kelli Jo
Harrision 1-4 2-4 4, Makenzie White 1-10
0-0 2, Rachel Laskody 0-0 0-0 0.

L.A. Lakers
Sacramento
Phoenix

Pct
.667
.556
.500
.294
.222

Pct
.556
.556
.389
.353
.294

Pct
.813
.588
.500
.500
.500

Pct
.789
.611
.579
.368
.176

Pct
.600
.579
.474
.412
.278

GB

2
3
6 1/2
8

GB

3
3 1/2
4 1/2

GB

3 1/2
5
5
5

GB

3 1/2
4
8
11

GB

1/2
2 1/2
3 1/2
6

PRO HOCKEY
NHL Standings

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
GP W L
Montreal
23 16 5
Ottawa
23 14 8
Tampa Bay
24 13 10
Boston
23 12 10
Detroit
23 11 10
Florida
23 11 10
Toronto
23 10 9
Buffalo
22 8 9
Metropolitan Division
GP W L
N.Y. Rangers 24 16 7
Pittsburgh
23 13 7
Washington
21 13 6
Columbus
21 12 5
New Jersey
22 10 7
Philadelphia
24 11 10
Carolina
22 9 9
N.Y. Islanders 22 8 10
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central Division
GP W L
Chicago
24 15 6
St. Louis
23 13 7
Nashville
22 11 8
Minnesota
22 11 8
Dallas
24 9 9
Winnipeg
25 11 12
Colorado
21 9 11
Pacific Division
GP W L
San Jose
23 13 9
Anaheim
23 11 8
Edmonton
24 12 10
Los Angeles
22 12 9
Calgary
26 11 13
Vancouver
23 10 11
Arizona
21 8 10

OT
2
1
1
1
2
2
4
5

OT
1
3
2
4
5
3
4
4

OT
3
3
3
3
6
2
1

OT
1
4
2
1
2
2
3

Pts
34
29
27
25
24
24
24
21

Pts
33
29
28
28
25
25
22
20

Pts
33
29
25
25
24
24
19

Pts
27
26
26
25
24
22
19

GF
68
55
71
55
57
58
70
44

GF
88
69
57
67
55
77
54
56

GF
68
62
65
62
61
66
47

GF
54
59
70
57
60
54
51

GA
50
56
65
53
59
60
74
57

GA
59
70
48
48
58
80
59
67

GA
60
63
57
47
79
72
63

GA
49
55
63
54
77
70
65

Islanders score with 27 seconds left to defeat Penguins

Pct
.889
.737

GB

2 1/2

MLB players, owners reach tentative labor deal

Polar Bears

They come down and make

plays and tackles, Walker said.
The running back is going to
cut back, and they are right
there.
Behind the linebacking crew
is the secondary, a group that
has intercepted 13 passes this
season and shuffled through a
variety of starters this season
with several players making big
plays.
Talon Miller is the elder
statesman of the group with two
interceptions, but injuries late in
the season have limited his playing time. Bryson Gilbert has
recently moved into the defensive backfield, picking off two
passes during the playoffs, each
of which was brought back for a
touchdown.
After those two, the defensive
backfield is left to a group of
sophomores.
One of those players is new
starter Antonio Parsons, who has
worked his way from the bench
into a position where he contributes key minutes each game.
My role wasnt very big in
the beginning of the season,
Parsons said. But through practice and playing, I earned the
starting job.
Parsons has two interceptions
on the season, the most recent
coming in a key moment in a

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B

playoff win over Weir. While

Parsons has taken advantage of
his added playing time late, he
knows he has a lot of help from
others.
With the Stills brothers up
front able to get after the passer
as well as they do, some of the
pressure to provide tight coverage for long periods of time is
lifted.
Thats very big, Parsons
said. If (the opposing quarterback) doesnt have anybody to
throw it to (quickly), hes going
to get hit by the big boys up
front.
Joining Parsons in the defensive backfield are the Posey
brothers. Elijah Posey has a
team-high four interceptions,
while Exavier has contributed
two.
Behind them on the defense is
the safety, a spot typically
manned by Miller, but an area
where others have had to step in
as well.
One such player is sophomore
Rhett Heston, who contributes at
safety and on special teams.
Im a safety, so I have make
sure the linebackers and defensive linemen are all right,
because I see every row of
them, Heston, who has intercepted one pass this season,
said.

As a young player, like

Parsons, Heston knows he has
others to thank for helping him
reach a point where hes a contributor on a team set to play for
the state championship.
Its very helpful having Jake,
Mike, Dante and Darius,
Heston said. I like having Talon
back there with me. Hes mentored me a lot since last year and
this year.
Role player contributions are
not limited to just defense,
either.
For example, when kicker
David Childers boots the ball
down field and it is returnable,
the FSHS kick-coverage team is
responsible for making a stop
and not allowing the opponent
to start with good field position.
Thats where players like
Austin Taylor and Heston come
in.
I keep contain with Rhett,
Taylor, a senior member of the
Polar Bears, said. You have to
keep contain, because if anybody gets outside of you, youre
in a pretty bad situation.
Contain is one of the most
important parts of the game,
because it forces the runner into
middle.
Once the runner goes back
toward the middle of the field,
more players are there and in a

position to make a tackle.

According to Taylor, having
Childers kick off is a blessing,
because he knows that if the
kick does not wind up in the end
zone, its going to be deep
enough for the coverage team to
get in position.
Its really relieving knowing
that we have someone as good
as David who can launch that
ball as far as he can, Taylor
said. You dont have to worry
about kicking as much. You just
have to worry about doing your
job.
Childers, a senior who handles all the placekicking duties,
has thrived in his role as well
this season. Hes also connected
on 3-of-4 field goal attempts and
made 42-of-46 extra points.
Childers came through in a big
way in last weeks semifinal victory over Bridgeport with a 30yard extra point in overtime.
Now, against an undefeated
Mingo Central squad with a
state title on the line, the Polar
Bears will need each and every
player to step up and be a star in
his role, whatever it may be.
They will need 11 men to do
11 jobs each and every play.
Email Sean McNamara at
smcamara@timeswv.com or follow
him
on
Twitter
@SMcNamaraTWV.