Gallery by Tina Laney
Oak Hill – Oak Hill has proven itself hard to beat inside the Lilly Center on Fred Ferri Jr. Court.
Tuesday night the Red Devils were at again.
Already owning a home win over sectional rival Greenbrier East, the Red Devils added Princeton to the list of victims.
Watching a late five-point lead disappear in the fourth quarter, Oak Hill stormed back for a wild 58-56 win over the Tigers.
“I am proud of my team. They played hard throughout the game and really hung in there when things weren’t so good,” Oak Hill head coach Benitez Jackson said. “I think if we do that and don’t turn the ball over, we can compete with just about anybody.”
Back-to-back scores from Koen Sartin and Dom Collins tied the game at 46-apiece with just over seven minutes remaining in the contest.
With his team reeling a bit, junior Malachi Lewis drilled a crucial 3-pointer to give the lead back to the home team.
A score from Kris Joyce trimmed the lead back to one, but another long ball and a free throw from Lewis gave Oak Hill a five-point bulge with four minutes to play.
“We shot the ball much better than we have been. The last four or five games we haven’t shot the ball well,” Jackson said. “Malachi really found his groove and Trevor (Kelly) shot the ball well. Overall as a group I thought we shot the ball well tonight.”
As the clock ticked under three minutes, what seemed like a win for Oak Hill turned in favor of the Tigers.
A save by Oak Hill on a ball going out of bounds under the Princeton basket found the hands of Sartin for an easy score.
With the game moving at a frantic pace, two straight turnovers by the Red Devils resulted in a Joyce stick back and a triple from Chase Hancock.
In just over a minute, a five-point deficit turned into a 55-53 lead for the Tigers.
A made free throw with 58 seconds to play pushed the lead to three points before Oak Hill turned the tables on the visitors.
A steal and a lay-up from Ethan Vargo-Thomas trimmed the lead to one before another steal led to a foul on Kelly who went to the line for the 1-plus-1.
Kelly calmly knocked down both free throws before Vargo-Thomas made one of his two chances for the 58-56 lead.
Princeton had one final possession to tie or win with 6.2 seconds to play, but the runner in just outside the lane by the Tigers did not find the mark.
“It was a tough game and a great win for Oak Hill. They have a nice team. I thought we had the game and just blew it,” Princeton head coach Robb Williams said. “There is no other way to say it. We had the game in our hands and we made some poor decisions with the ball and it is what it is.”
Lewis ended the night with a game-high 24 points for Oak Hill, nailing crucial buckets all night long for the Red Devils.
“Malachi has had a couple of games like that where he has kind of taken over the game,” Jackson said. “I think the last couple of games he wasn’t making his shots and he played a little unsure of himself. We don’t want anyone to pass up shots, but especially him. He has a good chance to make them when he is open and he shot the ball with a lot of confidence tonight. I was really happy with how he played.”
The game story for Princeton was foul trouble, especially in the first half. Fouls eventually forced Joyce to the bench with 1:27 to play, which was a big blow for the Tigers.
“Our defense was weak all night and we were in foul trouble from the start. Four of our guys had two fouls in the first half. It is tough to play when you are in foul trouble,” Williams said. “Kris fouling out made a big difference for us. He was playing well and rebounding well. It was a good effort by our guys and we didn’t give up, but it is hard to win here. (Greenbrier) East got beat here and Woodrow (Wilson) could have easily got beat here.”
The loss by the Tigers drastically changes the sectional seeding scenarios for AAAA Region 3, Section 2.
Greenbrier East has secured the No. 1 overall seed, but the water gets muddy from there. Princeton must now beat Greenbrier East Friday night in Fairlea to secure the No. 2 seed. A win by the Tigers would make Beckley the No. 3 seed and Oak Hill the No. 4 seed.
A loss by the Tigers will result in them falling all the way to No. 4, moving the Flying Eagles to the two-spot and Oak Hill up to three.
“We have to go Friday to East and it is really hard to win there as well,” Williams said. “If we lose Friday we go to East again in (the postseason).”
P: 14 14 17 14 – 56
OH: 17 11 18 12 – 58
Princeton
Nick Fleming 7, Dom Collins 3, Chase Hancock 17, Reed Thomas 2, Kris Joyce 21, Koen Sartin 6. Totals 21 6-17 56.
Oak Hill
Omar Lewis 2, Malachi Lewis 24, Cole Legg 3, Ethan Vargo-Thomas 7, Chance Minor 3, Trevor Kelly 16. Totals: 16 17-25 58
3-pointers – P: 7 (Fleming, Hancock 3, Joyce 3); OH: 9 (Lewis 5, Legg, Vargo-Thomas, Kelly 2)
