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Parkersburg South High School Athletics

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Patriots stunned at the Charleston Civic Center

Photo Credit: Jordan Holland

PATRIOTS STUNNED AT THE CHARLESTON CIVIC CENTER

CHARLESTON — Jake Stephens did his thing with 26 points and 18 rebounds while teammate Taralle Hayden scored 13 straight points for Musselman in the fourth quarter as the seventh-seeded Applemen rallied to upset No. 2 Parkersburg South in Wednesday’s Class AAA state quarterfinal at the Charleston Civic Center. Stephens, a 6-foot-9 VMI recruit, has been Musselman’s top performer all season, but he took a backseat as Hayden put his team on his back in the final period with drives and finishes at the basket to help the Applemen overcome a 10-point halftime deficit and give the program its first ever win at the state tournament. “At the end of the first half I told the guys, ‘We’re not out of this ballgame,’ and I think they believed that,” said Musselman head coach Derek Basile. After controlling the game nearly the entire first half, South’s shots stopped falling in the second half as the Patriots (21-4) went 6 for 23 (26 percent) from the floor. “I thought our biggest detriment was our offense in the second half,” said South head coach Mike Fallon, whose squad was ranked near or at the top of triple-A all season. “We scored 20 points in the second half. You can’t beat anybody scoring 20 points in a half.” Musselman (20-6) began chipping away early in the third quarter when a 9-0 run cut it to 36-34 at the 5:08 mark. Stephens’ putback tied it at 38-all at 2:08, but a Cole Plants basket-and-one in the final minute put the Patriots up 44-40. Seth Fallon opened the fourth with a jumper to make it 46-40, but back-to-back layups and a 3-pointer from Hayden gave the Applemen their first lead since 2-0 12 seconds into the game. Fallon answered with a pair of free throws, but again Hayden scored six straight points to make it 53-48 in favor of Musselman as South watched its offense continue to struggle. “I thought defensively we did a really nice job on just a really tough team to guard in Parkersburg South,” Basile said. Plants’ basket and Shane Snider’s two free throws brought South within one, but the Patriots missed a couple golden opportunities to go back on top. With 1:05 to go, Plants, who paced South with 21 points, missed a pair at the foul line. The Patriots got the ball back after a Musselman turnover, but Snider’s potential go-ahead bucket was swatted with authority by Stephens to preserve Musselman’s lead. “I’ve been watching so many West Virginia games, and you learn from (Sagaba) Konate and all these great shot-blockers that you have to go up with the right hand,” Stephens explained. “I guess the right hand was the left hand — I went up and got a hand on it and that’s what we needed.” Added Basile, “That shot block is as good as it gets.” Robert Glover was fouled on the ensuing possession and missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity, but Plants was fouled on the other end and also missed his one-and-one chance. “I was 4 for 11 (at the foul line) and we lost by two,” Plants said. “I don’t know how that wouldn’t weigh heavy on me.” Added Fallon of Plants, “We’re not sitting here without this kid.” Musselman cashed in on its next four attempts at the line, with Cam Williams and Stephens both going 2 for 2, to make it 57-52 with six seconds left. Seth Fallon banked in a desperation 3 with 1.2 seconds remaining, but Williams secured the inbound pass to end the game. “I’m disappointed in the outcome,” coach Fallon said. “Give (Musselman) credit. They came back and fought.” “We fought to the end too, but we should’ve never put ourselves in that situation. We talk every day about little things that make a difference. Those little things we’ve been kind of living on the edge with all season long came back to bite us tonight.” South finished 18 for 46 (39.1 percent) from the floor. Brayden Mooney tallied 16 points and Seth Fallon added 14. Hayden finished with 15 for Musselman, after just two in the first half, while Chris Fox chipped in 12. “Taralle I thought was terrific in that second half, really penetrating and scoring the ball and creating for other people,” Basile said. Added Hayden, “I just had to get that first half out of my mind.” Musselman will play either George Washington or Huntington in the semifinals at 9 p.m. Friday. “We talked all week about trying to take the next step in our program,” Basile said. “This was a big one tonight to win this game and get to the ‘Final Four.'” Parkersburg South graduates seniors Plants, Snider, Todd Burner, Kerwyn Marshall, Cody Durnell, Ben Menarchek and Tyson Graham. “We just need to get back to work and remember how this feels,” junior Seth Fallon said.

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