Parkersburg South holds off rival Parkersburg for 10th straight win in series

Parkersburg South’s Harry Silvis goes in for two of his 19 points following a steal during the Patriots’ 79-73 victory Tuesday night versus rival Parkersburg inside Memorial Fieldhouse. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

PARKERSBURG — During the 160th all-time meeting here Tuesday night inside Memorial Fieldhouse, visiting Parkersburg South won its 10th straight in the series after holding off rival Parkersburg, 79-73.

The 0-4 Big Reds of first-year head coach Phil Wilson, who take on Williamstown at 5 p.m. Friday at Warren’s Clash at the Coliseum, trailed 46-29 at halftime and were still behind by 17 at 54-37 with 3:39 left in the third.

Despite cutting the deficit to 57-51 entering the fourth and getting within a deuce at 60-58 with 5:43 remaining, the Patriots of head man Mike Fallon never trailed in picking up their first triumph in three opportunities.

Young Patriots make plays

“We’ve been here many times and we’ve let it slip through, you know, when the crowd kind of starts getting in,” admitted coach Fallon, who got 23 points from Jackson Smith, 19 from Harry Silvis, a dozen by Cole Joy and 11 from Conner McMullen.

“Everybody talks about they are young, but we’re young, too. The big thing was our kids found a way. I think Friday against Musselman we kind of panicked at the end with our younger kids, then today they made plays. With each game we’re going to grow.”

Parkersburg’s Andrew Stalnaker goes up for two of his 15 points as Parkersburg South’s Conner McMullen defends during the Patriots’ 79-73 victory Tuesday night inside Memorial Fieldhouse. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

PHS point guard Nate Rodriguez, who tied Smith for game-high scoring honors, chipped in six rebounds and a quartet of assists. Andrew Stalnaker had 15 points, Isaac Dailey had 10 while Matthew Stalnaker went for 11 markers and a game-high eight rebounds in the setback.

Building resilience and effort

“I think that’s what we are trying to do is to get them to understand that they don’t have to fold those games over,” admitted coach Wilson, whose team won the battle on the boards (35-34) but lost the turnover battle (19-12). “They normally would’ve folded those games.

“I want them to understand they are only going to be as good as the effort that they put out, and the effort they are putting out is pretty dang good right now. There is still more that they can give. That means now we got to pick up our intensity at practice.”

Game analysis

Smith drained three of his five 3s in the opening quarter. Silvis’ 3 from one of Joy’s game-high 10 assists, with just three ticks left, put the red and white in a 25-12 hole after one.

Parkersburg found itself trailing 31-14 early in the second, but managed a 15-4 run to close the gap to 35-29. Rodriguez had 10 of his points in the spurt, Luke Anderson had a free throw, Isaiah Walker converted a putback and Quentin Wilson knocked down a jumper from the foul line.

However, the Patriots ended the half on an 11-0 spurt. A McMullen hoop got it started and was followed by a Mason Nutter three-point play and then a Silvis four-point play. Joy sank a pair of foul shots for the final points.

The run by the Big Reds late in the third was fueled by Dailey, who had seven counters in the spurt.

Although South’s lead was sliced to just six entering the fourth, it wasn’t long before it was a one-possession affair. Rodriguez had a behind-the-back assist to Walker and then had a no-look dime to Dailey, who drained a 3. After Rodriguez grabbed a defensive carom and raced coast-to-coast for a lay-in it was 60-58.

Nonetheless, Smith answered right back with a trifecta and then Parkersburg Christian transfer Navi Hewitt, who had seven markers, made a move along the baseline and exploded to the basket for a jam.

Matthew Stalnaker answered with a lay-in from a Chander Jackson assist to make it 65-60 with 4:44 to play, but Smith canned a 3 just 18 seconds later as PHS never got it back to a one-possession game again.

Growth and intensity

“Everything that we do now has to be a growth,” added coach Wilson. “It’s the little things that matter and right now we are failing on the little parts of it. Once we fix those little things I really think that’s going to help us turn the corner.

“I don’t like losing, but I’m proud of them because they are fighting. It’s one of those double-edged sword things. You really want to win the game, but you want them to finally understand that they can compete.”

Upcoming games and improvement

Parkersburg South, which shot 27 of 59 (45.8%) compared to the Big Reds’ 29 of 56 (51.8%), also returns to action on Friday. The Patriots will face Walsh Jesuit at 4 p.m. at Mount Union in the Alliance Christmas Classic.

“We got a road trip coming up where we are going to Columbus for three straight,” said coach Fallon. “We might go 0 for 3, but we are going to get better because of the teams we play. In the big scheme of things that will make us better down the road. We played Spring Mills on Saturday and I really felt we should’ve won there.

“They are a top two or three team in the state of West Virginia. They are as good as anybody we are going to see all year long. I think if we don’t give them (PHS) offensive rebounds we still win by twenty-plus. I think that was the biggest difference in the game because they just kept chipping away on second shots. We’ll grow from it and we’ve been working on it.”

Contact Jay Bennett at [email protected]