Keyser Tickets go on sale today

Tornado plays Ravenswood Wednesday in Charleston

Cumberland Times-News

KEYSER - Advance ticket sales for Wednesday's state tournament game between Keyser and Ravenswood will go on sale this morning at Keyser High School.

The cost is $6 for students and $8 dollars for adults. All tickets will be $8 dollars at the door of the Charleston Civic Center. Also, a student pep bus will be provided for students for $15. The cost includes a ticket to the game.

For more information, call the school at (304) 788-4230.

Keyser (13-10), the eighth seed, will play No. 1 ranked Ravenswood (23-1) and winners of 14 straight on Wednesday, at 5:30 p.m. in the Charleston Civic Center. It was erroneously reported that the game would be played Thursday.

The Golden Tornado defeated Frankfort Thursday, 41-37, at East Hardy High School to advance to the tournament. Jeremy Green finished with 13 points, including the final three points of the game.

Keyser enters tourney as 8th seed

Mineral Daily News Tribune

The Keyser Golden Tornado will enter next week’s Class AA boys state tournament in Charleston as the eighth and last seed.

The seedings, as determined by the coaches, were announced Friday.

The Golden Tornado (13-10) will take on top-seeded Ravenswood on Wednesday, March 12, at 5:15 p.m.

Ravenswood finished the regular season as the top-ranked team in Class AA with a 23-1 record, its only loss coming to Ripley, 57-49, on January 18.

Ravenswood enters the state tournament having won 14 straight games.

Other Class AA pairings include No. 3 Logan vs. No. 6 Weir; No. 2 Wyoming East vs. No. 7 Grafton; and No. 4 Bluefield vs. No. 5 Oak Hill.

The Ravenswood-Keyser winner will face the Bluefield-Oak Hill winner in the semifinals, which will take place Friday, March 14.

he Class AA state title game will be played Saturday, March 15.

Keyser Wins Region 2 Championship

Mineral Daily News Tribune

After giving up at least 70 points in two losses to Keyser this season, the Frankfort Falcons entered Thursday’s Region II title game against the Golden Tornado looking to keep the game at their own pace.

And it almost worked.

Frankfort slowed the game to a near halt, but Keyser was able to do just enough to squeak out a 41-37 victory at East Hardy High School to win the region title and advance to the Class AA state tournament, which begins Wednesday, March 12, in Charleston.

Keyser’s seeding and opponent will be determined later today and will appear in Saturday’s edition of the News-Tribune.

It is the Golden Tornado’s third Region II championship in four years, and Frankfort has been the region runner-up all three times.

The Falcons looked to change that trend early on Thursday, holding Keyser to just three points in the first quarter to take a 6-3 lead into the second frame.

Keyser was then able to find some offense, scoring 12 points while holding Frankfort to another six points to take a 15-12 lead at the half.

The Golden Tornado put a little distance between themselves and their inter-county rivals in the third quarter, taking a 25-16 lead into the fourth period.

Frankfort was able to rally, however, closing to within 38-36 late in the game, but Jeremy Green salted things away by stealing an inbounds pass and converting a layup and also hitting a free throw with 8 seconds remaining.

Green finished with 13 points and 7 rebounds to lead Keyser (13-10), while freshman Wes Washington added 10 points, 7 boards and 5 assists.

Preston Hartman had 6 points, 12 rebounds and 5 steals.

Steven Whitacre led Frankfort with 13 points, while Dan Alkire added 12.

With the loss, Frankfort ends its season at 8-16.

KHS, FHS to play for regional title

Mineral Daily News Tribune

The Keyser Golden Tornado and Frankfort Falcons will square off this evening with the Class AA, Region II championship — and more importantly — a spot in the state playoffs on the line.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at East Hardy High School.
This will be the third meeting between the inter-county rivals this season, with Keyser sweeping the regular-season series.
The Golden Tornado won at home, 70-56, on December 19, and then completed the sweep in Short Gap, 75-55, on January 18.
Keyser, under first-year head coach Gary Liston, finished the regular season with a 12-10 mark. The Golden Tornado will be making their third trip to the Region II title game in four years, having won in 2005 and 2006, both times beating Frankfort.
Keyser reached tonight’s game with an 82-44 victory over Petersburg in the Section I championship game.
Frankfort, meanwhile, finished the regular season at 8-15.
The Falcons qualified for tonight’s game with a 52-30 victory over Berkeley Springs on February 27.
Keyser comes in averaging 65.2 points per game while allowing nearly the same number, 64.5 per contest.
Frankfort averaged just under 50 points a game while giving up 59.6.
The Golden Tornado boasted the top three scorers in the Potomac Valley Conference’s AA Division.
Preston Hartman led the way with 19.2 points per game, followed by Jeremy Green at 16.6 and Matt Wilmer at 15.2.
Frankfort’s leading scorer is Nathan Gillispie at 8.5 points a game while Skyler Minke averages 8.3.
Hartman also led the PVC D-AA in rebounding with 12.2 a game, while Green was third in the conference at 8.9.
Saige Shepherd led Frankfort with 5.6 boards per game and Steven Whitacre pulled down 4.7.
Cody Spotts is Keyser’s leading assist man with 3.5 per game while Dan Alkire leads Frankfort with 3.2.
The winner of tonight’s game moves on to the Class AA state tournament in Charleston beginning Wednesday, March 12.

Keyser Whips Petersburg, 82-44

Cumberland Times-News

KEYSER, W.Va. - Matt Wilmer got the job done on both ends of the court Tuesday night to lead fifth-ranked Keyser to an 82-44 thumping of Petersburg in their West Virginia Class AA sectional championship game Tuesday evening.

Wilmer finished with a game best 21 points, and added eight rebounds, five assists, three steals and a blocked shot.

Jeremy Green had a double-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, and Preston Hartman scored 15 points. Jarell Ross added eight points and nine rebounds, and Wes Washington dished out eight assists for Keyser.

Derek Miller had 16 points and Marcus Hahn 10 for Petersburg

The Golden Tornado clung to a 16-10 lead following the first period, and was in control at 37-20 at halftime. The score was 58-33 at the end of the third quarter.

Keyser (12-10) is off until Thursday, March 6, when it will play the winner of Frankfort/Berkeley Springs in the Region 2 championship.

The Vikings finished the season with a 9-13 record.

SECTIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!!

Keyser Wins Sectional; Defeats Vikings 82-44

Mineral Daily News Tribune

The Keyser Golden Tornado, after an up-and-down regular season under first-year head coach Gary Liston, got their playoff run off to a great start with an 82-44 victory over the Petersburg Vikings to win the Class AA Region II, Section I title Tuesday evening at Tornado Alley.

Keyser, after enduring a stretch in which it lost 5 of 6 games, has now won 4 of its last 5 games and hopes to carry that momentum into next week’s Region II title game.

Frankfort and Berkeley Springs will play for the Section II championship this evening in Short Gap at 7 p.m., with the winner taking on Keyser on Thursday, March 6, at East Hardy High School for the right to play in the Class AA state playoffs.

On Tuesday, the Golden Tornado dominated both ends of the court, nearly doubling up Petersburg in field goals, 37-19.

Keyser took a 16-10 lead after the first period and then blew the game wide open in the second frame, outscoring the Vikings 21-10 to take a 37-20 lead into the half.

The Golden Tornado kept the heat up in the third quarter, scoring another 21 points to take a commanding 58-33 lead into the final period.

Matt Wilmer had a solid all-around game for Keyser, recording a game-high 21 points to go along with 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and a blocked shot.

Jeremy Green had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Preston Hartman added 15 points.

Jarell Ross and Taige Redman each had 8 points for the Golden Tornado (12-10), with Ross also pulling down 9 rebounds.

Wes Washington dished out a team-high 8 assists.

Derek Miller led Petersburg with 16 points and Marcus Hahn added 10.

With the loss, the Vikings finish up their season at 9-13.