Keyser Beats Southern, 45-42

KEYSER, W.Va.—On a night where the foul shots weren’t falling for either eam, Matt Wilmer hit a pair of clutch free throws from the charity stripe with 10.8 seconds left and Preston Hartman hit one of two with under five seconds left to preserve a 45-42 win for the Keyser Golden Tornado over the Southern Rams in varsity boys’ basketball action at Tornado Alley Friday.
Keyser never trailed, but were pushed to the limit by the Rams, who trailed by ten late in the third quarter but got within one point before Wilmer’s free throws.
Jeremy Green led Keyser with 14 points, six rebounds, and four steals. Wilmer had 13 points.
Scott Livengood had 12 points for Southern.
Green tallied a quick six as Keyser led 8-2 with 3:07 left in the first quarter.
The big lead would be short-lived.
With Keyser’s Maverick Nelson sitting with two fouls, the Rams attacked the hoop and pulled within a bucket at 10-8 with under a minute to go on a Calvin Hilliard layup.
The Golden Tornado led 14-10 after the first quarter. Wes Washington, active on both ends, had five first-quarter assists and eight for the game.
A Hilliard layup pulled the Rams within two to open the quarter, and the two teams yo-yoed for most of the rest of the quarter: Keyser still leading, but unable to push the lead to more than four.
One reason for the Rams’ success near the hoop was the continued foul trouble of Nelson, who picked up his third foul with 3:32 remaining.
Southern pulled even for the first time since 2-2 when Scott Livengood finished off a nice passing sequence with a layup.
It was 20-all with 1:13 left in the half.
Ethan Brady had a chance to give Southern their first lead of the game, but missed a pair at the line. A Wilmer runner as time expired gave the Golden Tornado a precarious 22-20 lead at intermission.
Green had eight points to lead Keyser at the half; Livengood tallied the same for Southern.
After Livengood tallied to tie the game again, Keyser scored eight straight to open up their biggest lead of the night at 30-22 with 4:12 left in the third quarter.
Green scored the final four points of the run, ncluding a high-flyingfinger roll.
Southern scored four of the next six points, then back-to-back Nelson layups off nice feeds from Hartman and Wilmer, respectively, gave Keyser their first double-digit cushion.
It was 36-28, Keyser, heading to the fourth quarter.
A Livengood layup cut the lead to six, but a double-clutch jumper from Hartman put Keyser back up by eight points with 6:10 left.
Both teams missed opportunities at the line, a theme all night, then Southern hit one of two and Green canned a pair.
The Golden Tornado led 40-31 with 4:16 left, but from there, the Rams chipped away.
A Hilliard three-point play at 2:58 cut the lead to five, then Wilmer hit one of two at the line to put KHS back up six.
With 2:10 left in the fourth quarter, Chris Schad hit a critical three to halve the KHS lead.
From there, Keyser milked the clock, and neither team scored until Schad hit a pair of free throws with 12.7 seconds left after a Hartman foul.
With 10.8 seconds left, ilmer hit two big foul shots for KHS.
Jarell Ross threw the Rams a lifeline with 6.4 seconds left, fouling Schad at midcourt. The first foul shot was good, but the second rimmed out, and Keyser clung to a two-point advantage.
Hartman, with a chance to ice the game, hit the first of two to re-establish the three-point lead, but his second attempt rimmed out.
A desperation heave from Schad from 23 feet hit the far side of the rim, and Keyser escaped, 45-42.
Keyser (6-3) is at Fort Hill Wednesday for a tripleheader. Southern (1-8) host Mountain Ridge Tuesday.