Matewan Coach Phillip Mitchell, happy to finally get his first win at Phelps in his six seasons as head coach, said his team’s defense played exceptionally well in the second and third quarters to take home the win.
“We came out in a zone defense and (Phelps’) Dillon Stiltner hit four 3-pointers in a row in the first quarter,” Mitchell said. “They took a 16-15 lead over us and then we went man-to-man in the second quarter and slowed down their offense.”
In the second quarter, the Tigers outscored Phelps 8-3 to take a 23-19 lead at the half.
The Tigers then outpointed Phelps 15-11 in the third period to go into the final stretch ahead 38-30. Matewan came out on top by outscoring the Hornets 25-24 in the final frame to take home the nine-point victory.
Colton Copley led the Tigers with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
“Colton Copley’s play underneath was key,” Mitchell said. “He pounded it in and commanded the boards.”
Next was Brandon Burgraff with 20 points, while Matt Kennedy scored 10 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Josh Sammons scored eight, Max Whitt netted tow and Chaz Clusky finished with a foul shot.
Stiltner led the Hornets with 26 points.
“We played pretty good team ball,” Mitchell said. “We distributed the ball well and did what we had to do to win. Phelps is a hard place to play. It felt good to get my first win at Phelps. We’ve beaten them at Matewan, but, since I’ve been coach, we hadn’t beaten them at their place.”
Matewan improved to 11-1 with the win.
The Tigers return to action at Man Friday night and then travel to Delbarton to play Burch on Saturday.
The Hornets are coached by the previous Matewan basketball coach, Clay Campbell.
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