Seth, W. Va. — It took double overtime but Tolsia will play for a Section title after defeating Sherman 59-57 on Wednesday in the Region 4 Section 1 semifinals.
Tolsia Seniors
L to R Jayson Vanhoose, David Dingess, Ben Clayton
Tolsia was led by Parker Watts with 20 points, Bryson Muncy tallied 10 points, Bray Mollette had 9 points, David Dingess finished with 8 points, Ben Clayton netted 7 points and Evan Ball added 5 points.
The Rebels made 4 three pointers and went 8 of 20 from the free throw line.
The Tide ( 11-12 ) was led by AJ Skeens with 19 points, Luke Tagliente had 13 points, Logan Baldwin, Andrew Simpson and Bryce Mints had 6 points each, Gage Halstead 4 points, Trey Lester 3 points.
Sherman made 4 three pointers and went 7 of 12 from the free throw line.
THS 11 19 10 8 5 6 = 59
SHS 7 15 12 14 5 4 = 57
The Rebels ( 13-9 ) will advance to play in the Region 4 Section 1 championship game at Tug Valley ( 20-3 ) on Friday at 7:00 after the Panthers beat Man 70-28.
Tolsia Senior Cheerleaders
L to R Kerrigan Salmons, Jada Salmons, Kaylee Johnson, Natalie Sexton, Ella Hatfield, Panyasiri Thongthip
Tolsia Head Coach Brian Stacy
COACH’S COMMENTS
“… We went to Sherman with a chip on our shoulder and left it there when we walked out victorious. We felt we should have been the #2 seed and played at Tolsia but it is what it is. We just made Sherman are home tonight, we took a fan bus and are loyal fans traveled with us and packed out are side of the gym.”
“… Sherman started it off with a 3 pointer but Parker Watts answered that with a thunderous dunk which set the tone for us. We knew that we were going to press them the biggest part of the game and we tried to stay out of foul trouble and when you play aggressive like we do you’re going to get into some foul trouble.”
“… Parker Watts had big first half for us. We watched film after film on Sherman and knew what they where going do defensively but what we didn’t expect was some of their guys hitting three pointers. On film they didn’t shoot the ball very well other than the Skeens kid who is a nice player.”
“… David Dingess had a nice inside game working during the game and I can’t say enough about his and Ben Clayton’s effort, they were true leaders. They took charge of the huddle a couple times during timeout and they didn’t want their season to end. They were not going to let us lose.”
“… We took an eight point lead in halftime and my assistant coaches Greg Fleming and Brandon Stacy made the call to drop back into a zone and try to protect ourselves from further foul trouble and it worked and allowed us to jump out to a 14 point lead at one point. But give them credit they hit some unexpected three pointers on us and we forced up some quick shots on our end and they crawled all the way back and forced the game into overtime.”
“… In the first OT both teams didn’t get much going offensively and Sherman missed a shot to win it. In the second OT we got the lead early but couldn’t stretch out because we struggled at the foul line and Sherman tied the game and then hits a three pointer to take the lead but Freshman Evan Ball answered right back to tie it up with under a minute left when he drained a three from the corner. We asked a lot of him and he came up huge, I put him on the other teams best player every night and they may make a few shots but they know he’s going to be there in there face. Then I expect him to take care the ball and run our offense as well.”
“… After we get it tied we get a much needed stop on defense and Parker Watts gets fouled on the other end and hits both free throws to put us up two points. Sherman misses again and Dingess grabs the rebound and we run the clock out. Man I just can’t say enough about are effort they never quit in a dang sauna of a gym they busted their butts all night long. My seniors wasn’t letting this one get away.
“… So proud of our guys to fight through the adversity and secure our spot in the regional and advance to the sectional championship Friday night against Tug Valley.”
“… The Rebels had kinda of an unconventional senior night for our three seniors. We were scheduled to host Rose Hill but Mother Nature stepped in and it was cancelled and we couldn’t find a team to replace them. So we had a blue/orange inner squad scrimmage which was great. We had a great turn out from our fans to honor the seniors one more time. I can’t say enough about my three seniors.”
“… Jayson Vanhoose only year playing for me and I have enjoyed having him around, he has brought a lot of energy to practice everyday and sure wished he would have played ball the last couple years.”
“… David Dingess a returner from last season and I have seen a big difference in him from last year to this year. He is more vocal as a leader this year and he’s playing more aggressive on the offensive end of the floor. He doesn’t really know how good he can be, he is just a natural athlete whether it’s on the football field or the court.”
“… Ben Clayton I can’t say enough about his leadership. He got in the gym this summer and worked his tail off and is leading the team in 3 point percentage and is also shooting 49% from the field. He hit 8 three pointers earlier in a game against Man. When he is on boy he is on, just a great group of seniors that’s going to be hard to replace, Love those guys.”
