Gallery by Heather Belcher
Beckley – Tuesday night Class AAAA Oak Hill was looking to snap a two-game skid when it battled Class A No. 3 Webster County at the New River CTC Invitational.
Unfortunately for the Highlanders, it was all Red Devils inside the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.
Sparked by an early 13-0 run and a 9-2 burst to open the second half, Oak Hill (4-4) stymied Webster County (7-1) in a 60-36 win.
“I thought our defense was the key tonight and something we worked on really hard. We didn’t feel like we were very good defensively the last couple of games,” Oak Hill head coach Benitez Jackson said. “We guarded the ball a lot better, but we still have some areas to clean up. Overall I was pleased with our effort today.”
With the game knotted at seven apiece, the Oak Hill speed and defense began to take its toll.
Holding the Highlanders scoreless for nearly five minutes, the Red Devils separated the game with a 13-0 run that spanned the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter.
“I am not pleased a bit. We didn’t play with any confidence to start with,” Webster County head coach Mike Gray said. “Then we were hesitant, looked a little shell-shocked and scared. We played nervous the whole night.”
A pair of old school 3-point plays by Ethan Vargo-Thomas keyed the spurt giving Oak Hill a 20-7 lead.
The advantage was 11 at the break, but quickly went to 18 with 5:51 to play in the third quarter.
“We have focused on keeping people out of the lane and forcing long shots. If teams make contested 3’s, then we can live with that,” Jackson said. “If they miss though, it lets us get out in transition. We feel like we are athletic enough that we can take the rebound, get out in transition and attack the basket.”
A Webster free throw stopped the 7-0 run, but after back-to-back scores from Trevor Kelly the lead was 22 points and Oak Hill never looked back.
Kelly led the Red Devils with 20 points and 12 rebounds, followed by Malachi Lewis with 18 and seven boards. Vargo-Thomas scored 14 and had seven assists.
“Trevor played well and Malachi played really well. I thought Ethan attacked the basket pretty well,” Jackson said. “Omar and Cole Legg, coming off the bench, their defense on their guards turned the game for us keeping in front of them. Omar was also a real catalyst pushing the tempo for us.”
Rayden Triplett scored 15 for the Highlanders and Logan Leichliter had 11.
Both teams are back in action Saturday in the New River CTC Invitational. Oak Hill will matchup with Wyoming East at 3:15 p.m., while Webster County plays Class A No. 1 James Monroe at 6:45 p.m.
“We have to bounce back because we will be playing the best team in single-A Saturday night. James Monroe is pretty good and if we play like we did tonight, we will get embarrassed,” Gray said. “We will practice hard this week and change some things. I feel like we will be back.”
