KEYSER, W.Va. — Despite a valiant fourth-quarter effort, Keyser’s state tournament hopes were dashed by an ice-cold third quarter during a 64-52 loss to Webster County in the final round of the Class AA Region 2 playoffs Wednesday night.
The Golden Tornado held onto a slight lead during the opening two quarters as they were ahead 13-12 after the first, and 22-19 at the half. But things changed abruptly in the third quarter, as Keyser went completely cold and Webster thrived.
The Highlanders opened the second half with a streak of 26 straight points, and outscored Keyser 29-2 for the period to build a 48-24 advantage. Daniel Zinn had the only points for the Tornado on a shot with eight seconds remaining. In an illustration of how the quarter played out, Webster County nailed a halfcourt shot at the buzzer to close the period.
Two Keyser seniors finished their basketball careers with double-doubles as Matt Wilmer scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Preston Hartman had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Wilmer also had four steals and two assists.
The Highlanders were led by Skyler McCoy’s 21 points and five rebounds. Tim Miller had 11 points and four assists.
After entering the fourth quarter down 48-24, Keyser was able to cut the deficit to 12 points, by outscoring the Highlanders 28-16 in the final eight minutes. The Tornado got no closer than the 12-point margin at the end of the game.
Keyser (18-7) was hoping to make its fifth state tournament in seven seasons. The Tornado had earned spots in the tournament in 2008, 2006, 2004 and 2003.
Webster (17-6) will begin play in the state tournament on Thursday at the Charleston Civic Center.
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