Brandon Burgraff, the Tigers’ star shooting guard, said Tucker County wanted it more than Matewan did.
“We got outhustled. They got the long rebounds and the hustle points,” Burgraff said. “They played good defense. That’s the best defensive team I’ve played all year. They got the hustle points, the rebounds and the loose balls.”
The Tigers got an early exit from the tournament after losing to Tucker, 65-57, in the first game of the Single-A tourney.
The Mountain Lions outscored Matewan 20-15 on points off turnovers. The Tigers committed 16 turnovers in the game, while Tucker County suffered only 14.
Tucker County controlled the boards, outrebounding Matewan 35-32. The Mountain Lions got 13 offensive rebounds to Matewan’s 10, as the Mountain Lions outscored the Tigers 13-12 on second-chance buckets.
Two keys to the game were free-throw shooting and 3-pointers.
Matewan made only 6-of-10 foul shots and 3-of-15 3-point attempts, while Tucker County scored 13-of-22 charity tosses and 6-of-20 3s.
In the second half, Tucker County sank 11-of-19 free throws. Matewan scored 4-of-7 foul shots.
Matewan’s Colton Copley, a senior forward, led all scorers with 22 points. He also grabbed eight rebounds, gave an assist, blocked two shots and got a steal in 32 minutes of play.
“They were better prepared and I think they wanted it more, honestly,” Copley said during the post-game press conference. “The open court really affected us and so did the fans. They just outhustled us.”
Next was Burgraff, who came into the tournament averaging more than 20 points a game, but was limited to just 16 by Tucker’s defense. He also gave four assists and got three steals.
Senior center Matt Kennedy scored the game’s only double-double, netting 12 points and reeling in 12 rebounds. Kennedy blocked one shot and grabbed a steal. Kennedy played saw 23 minutes of action due to foul trouble.
“I got in foul trouble early and, in the second half, we picked the momentum up, but they outhustled us,” Kennedy said.
Coach Mitchell said foul troubled plagued the Tigers throughout the game.
“When you lose your big man in the middle that early in the game it definitely hurt us,” Coach Mitchell said. “Matt is a force underneath and when we had to take him out, it really hurt us.”
Senior point guard Josh Sammons scored his only points on a 3-pointer. He also handed off seven assists. Junior forward Nathaniel Mitchell scored a baseline jumper for his total. Mitchell gave an assist and got a steal in only 16 minutes of action.
Sophomore guard Chaz Clusky came off the bench to score two points. He also got a steal. Senior guard Max Whitt played, but did not score.
Tucker County was led by Josh Polig with 20 points and three shot blocks, while Ethan Slaubaugh scored 18 points and led the Mountain Lions on the boards with eight rebounds. Logan Snyder was next with 16, while Darius Dillard added six, Dylan Simmons netted four and Casey Phillips scored a free throw.
Tucker County got 10 steals in the game, while Matewan got seven.
The game was tied eight times and the lead changed nine times. Matewan’s largest lead was by three in the first quarter with 3:31 left when Copley hit a putback to make it 11-8. Tucker County’s largest lead came in the fourth quarter with 4:43 left in the game when the Mountain Lions’ Poling scored a bucket and a foul shot to make it 51-43.
“It was a good ballgame. We came out and stayed with them most of the game, but, in the fourth quarter we let them get away from us,” Coach Mitchell said. “My players played hard and we did the best we could. I’m proud of them.”
The Tigers end their season with a 23-3 record, while Tucker County improved to 23-4.
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