Tornado Blows Past Falcons, 65-44

KEYSER — Strong starts to all four quarters powered the Keyser Golden Tornado to a 65-44 win over the Frankfort Falcons in boys’ sectional basketball action at Tornado Alley Tuesday night.
KHS started the four quarters with runs of 10-2, 6-0, 8-0, and 8-0, respectively.
The Golden Tornado received a balanced scoring effort.
Jeremy Green led the way with 16 points, ten rebounds, and three steals; Preston Hartman had 14 points, 13 rebounds and three steals, Matt Wilmer 12 points, and Wes Washington 10 points and four assists.
In a valiant effort, Logan Wolford had 17 points to lead Frankfort.
Keyser came out flying, opening up a 6-0 lead in the first minute-and-a-half of the game and forcing Frankfort coach Scott Slider to take a quick timeout.
Three straight points by Frankfort’s Travis Myers brought Frankfort back within five, 10-5, with 2:20 left.
Good defense by Frankfort and Keyser’s inability to finish around the rim kept the Falcons within shouting distance.
The Golden Tornado led 14-9 after the first quarter.
A Dusty Myers layup closed the Falcons within a possession, 14-11, 18 seconds into the half.
But Keyser countered with a 6-0 run, capped by a Preston Hartman pull-up jumper in transition.
Keyser led, 20-11, with 5:02 left in the first half.
The Falcons cut back within five, 20-15, on a Logan Wolford basket.
But the Golden Tornado again had an answer.
Keyser scored eight of the next ten points; a Matt Wilmer blocked shot led to Wes Washington’s transition layup and KHS’s first double-digit lead, 28-17, with 1:12 to go in the half.
The Golden Tornado took a 32-19 lead into the locker room.
Hartman’s eight points led Keyser; Wolford had six, all in the second quarter, to top Frankfort.
KHS again started the half hot, tallying a quick eight points to move ahead 40-19. Matt Wilmer had four points during the run.
Wolford took control for Frankfort, scoring the next eight points to cut the lead to 40-27 with 3:41 left in the third quarter.
But Keyser again answered, this time with an 8-2 run. Hartman had four points inside.
KHS led, 48-29, at the 1:41 mark.
After three quarters, the Golden Tornado led 49-34, despite nine points from Wolford in the quarter.
Once again, the beginning of the quarter went Keyser’s way.
KHS scored the first eight points of the frame to open up a 59-36 lead and cruised the rest of the game.
Keyser improves to 17-6 with the win and will host either Berkeley Springs or Petersburg for the sectional title Friday night.
Frankfort ends the season at 8-15.

Keyser-Frankfort Sectional Game, 3-3-09

Keyser Overpowers Frankfort, 65-44

KEYSER, W.Va. — Keyser had too much speed and too much depth for Frankfort, opening the third quarter with an 8-0 run to advance to the West Virginia Class AA, Region 2, Section 2 championship game this Friday with a 65-44 victory over the Falcons Tuesday at Keyser.

Jeremy Green scored 16 points, had 10 rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots to lead the Golden Tornado (17-6), while Preston Hartman scored 14 points with 13 rebounds and three steals.

Matt Wilmer scored 12 points for Keyser, with two blocked shots, and Wes Washington scored 10 points and had four assists.

For Frankfort (8-15), Logan Wolford scored 17 points and Dusty Myers hit for 12 points.

Keyser led 14-9 after the first quarter, and increased it to 32-19 at the half. After its 8-0 start to the third quarter, the Tornado entered the fourth quarter with a 49-34 lead.

Keyser will host the Petersburg-Berkeley Springs winner in the Sectional championship 2 game Friday.

Keyser Moves into Top Ten in AA Associated Press Poll

CHARLESTON — The Keyser Golden Tornado moved into the top ten of the Associated Press West Virginia Class AA boys’ basketball poll, released Tuesday.
Keyser received eleven votes, two ahead of Poca and six behind No. 9 Pike View. Wyoming East (21-1) is the unanimous No. 1, receiving all nine first-place votes.
Oak Hill, Sissonville, Magnolia, and Ravenswood make up the rest of the top five.
Fellow Region II schools Grafton and Webster County are sixth and seventh. Weir is eighth.

Mineral County Rubber Match - Keyser vs. Frankfort in First Round Sectional Play

KEYSER — The third time really will be the charm tonight when the Frankfort Falcons (8-14) head across the county to battle the No. 10 Keyser Golden Tornado (16-6) in the first round of the West Virginia boys’ basketball sectional playoffs.
Keyser won the first meeting at home, 74-29, on December 23. KHS’s Matt Wilmer poured in 14 of his game-high 17 points in the first half.
But Frankfort pulled off a 60-55 stunner exactly a month later, with Skyler Minke’s 13 points leading a balanced Falcon attack.
Gary Liston’s Golden Tornado are peaking at the right time, ripping off eight straight wins and posting a 9-1 record in the month of February.
Scott Slider’s Falcons, too, have played well of late, racking up four straight wins before suffering a 72-44 Senior Day loss to Allegany on Thursday.
Frankfort is actually over .500 (7-6) in the stretch beginning with their win over Keyser.
The winner will advance to Friday’s sectional final against the winner of Berkeley Springs at Petersburg, which also is being played on Tuesday night. Keyser, seeded first, will host if they win; Frankfort, seeded fourth, will have to travel.
Due to changes made in this year’s post-season format, the two sectional finalists are also guaranteed a regional game: each sectional winner will host the second-place team from the opposite section on March 11.
In order of seeding, Grafton, Lincoln, Webster County, Philip Barbour, Braxton County, and Liberty Harrison make up the other section in Region II.
Two teams from each region advance to the state tournament, which begins March 18 at the Civic Center in Charleston.