Cole Kocher

With the holiday break now over, both Paden City and Tyler Consolidated’s boys varsity basketball teams will get down to business playing at least two games a week in preparation for post season play. On a winning streak of late, Paden City has met defeat only once this season, while the Consolidated squad has turned in some excellent performances, but have come up on the short end of the score four times so far.

Wildcats

The Wildcats met up with the Valley Lumber Jacks for the second time this season on Dec. 28, this time falling to their cross-county rivals, 64-57 in a heated contest at Pine Grove, to meet defeat for the first time this season.

It was all Paden City in the first quarter as the ‘Cats controlled the offensive side of the ball, putting 15 points on the scoreboard while holding the Jacks to seven. In the second period, Valley found some success in the paint and outscored the visitors 21-19, yet the Green and White still held a slim lead, 34-28 going into the half.

The home team kept the momentum in the second half, pulling ahead of Paden City in the third and holding them off in the fourth to take the win.

Brandon Cross - Dylan Reynolds

Sophomore Zach Heasley led all Wildcat scorers in the game with 16 points. He also pulled down six boards, had two assists and two steals. Senior Drew Bidwell added 12 points, had three assists, three rebounds, and a steal; Luke Cooper finished the game with 12 points, six boards, one steal and an assist; Kennedy Cain double/doubled, scoring 10 points, bringing down 13 rebounds, stole the ball twice, and had two assists; Brandon Cross, five points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals; Logan Carroll two points, one rebound; Kane Pyles brought down two rebounds; and Craig Allen was credited with two rebounds.

On Dec. 18 the Paden City Wildcats hosted the Hornets of Hundred, taking the win in a big way, 65-35. The ‘Cats jumped out to a respectable 11-4 lead after the first, but the Hornets played solid in the second period, shortening the scoring deficit and coming to within five points of the lead at the half, 22-17.

In the third quarter, it was all Paden City however, dominating the court with 25 points and eventually taking their fifth straight win of the season.

Sophomore Kennedy Cain led the Wildcat scorers in the game with 19 points. He also had nine rebounds, two steals, and four assists. Cooper added 15 points, pulled down eight boards, blocked a shot, and was credited with four assists and four steals; Heasley had nine points, three rebounds, three steals and three assists; Cross, seven points, one rebound, one block, one steal and one assist; Bidwell, six points, six rebounds, four steals and four assists; Allen, four points, one rebound, two steals and one assist; Pyles, three points, one rebound, one steal; Carroll, two points, one rebound; Devon Price, one steal, one assist; and Levi Meadows brought down one rebound.

The ‘Cats will host the Yellow Jackets of Williamstown on Jan. 2 and East Richland on Jan. 5. On Jan. 8, Paden City will welcome Bishop Donahue to Bob Burton Gymnasium.

Kane Pyles

Silver Knights

The Silver Knights of Tyler Consolidated traveled to Pleasants County on Dec. 18 to take on the Blue Devils. The home team jumped out to a quick lead after the first period of play, topping the Knights by seven points, 20-13. The Silver pulled their game plan together and worked the floor well for the rest of the game, but still fell short of the win when all was said and done, falling to St. Marys 70-61.

Senior Scott Sole led all Knight scorers in the game with 16 points. He pulled down one rebound, and was credited with two assists. Darren Heintzman double/doubled in the game with 15 points and 13 rebounds and one assist; Dylan Romine scored 14 points, brought down three rebounds, and was credited with two assists and three steals; Tim Edwards added seven points, had four rebounds, and blocked a shot; Dylan Reynolds, six points, five rebounds, eight assists and one steal; Cole Kocher, three points, one rebound, two assists and a steal; Drew Casey, one rebound; and Randal Eastham, two rebounds, three blocked shots.

At Doddrdige on Dec. 21, the Knights put together a nice mix of offense and defense to take the win over the Bulldogs, 61-51.

The Knights were led by sophomore Dylan Romine in the contest who paced the team with 27 points. He also brought down four rebounds, had two assists and two steals. Sole added 10 points to the mix, had five rebounds, one assist and one steal; Heintzman contributed eight points, hauled in 11 boards, and blocked a shot; Reynolds had five points, five rebounds, nine assists; Kocher, four points, one rebound, two assists, three steals; Casey, three points, one rebound, one steal; Edwards, two points, three rebounds; Eastham, two points, five rebounds two blocked shots; and Casenelli, one rebound.

The Silver Knights of Tyler Consolidated played at Magnolia on Dec. 27, and were handily defeated by the Blue Eagles, 95-50.

At the end of the first period of play, the Wetzel County team was up by 20 points, and kept up the scoring drive throughout the game in order to take the win.

Knight scorers in the game included: Romine with 20; Sole, 12; Heintzman, nine; Reynolds, three; Eastham, three; Edwards, two; Kocher, two; and Casey two.

Tyler Consolidated is scheduled to play again on Jan. 3 at Ravenswood and on Jan. 8 at Ritchie County.

On Jan. 10-12, the Knights will host their own tournament, “The Boggs Family Pizza and Grill, Roundball Classic Basketball Tournament”.

The tournament will feature both boys and girls varsity contests. The Ladies portion of the tournament will begin on Jan. 10 with the first game between Frontier and Wirt County at 6 p.m. The second game will see the Lady Knights facing off with Magnolia, immediately following the first game.

On Jan. 11, the first boys game will begin at 6 p.m. featuring Bellaire St. Johns and Clay Battelle. In the second game, the Silver Knights will take on the Magnolia Blue Eagles.

Consolation games will begin at 1 p.m. on Jan. 12 with the girls contest first, followed by the girls championship game scheduled for 3 p.m. At 5 p.m. the boys consolation game will be played, followed by the championship contest.