PHILIPPI, W.Va. — Philip Barbour head coach Rick Mouser had a feeling a Petersburg run was coming. Unlike in their previous meeting in January, his Colts would not relinquish the lead as Philip Barbour held on to defeat the Vikings 50-40 in the Class AA Region II co-finals.
Leading by as many as ten points in the first half, PB (16-8) saw their advantage shrink to a single point in the third quarter (31-30). However, the Colts immediately answered with a 13-0 run that extended into the fourth quarter, providing the winning margin.
“They are always scrappy. They play a lot like we do, off of hustle and things like that. They came here tonight to play,” Mouser said.
“When we played them in the regular season, we led by about 12 the whole night like we did tonight. They actually took the lead with a couple minutes left and we ended up winning by four (51-47). We were kind of prepared and ready for that because we knew they would make a run.”
Philip Barbour never trailed in the contest. They ended the first quarter on a 12-2 run to build a 17-7 lead through the opening eight minutes.
“I think they were just ready. They were ready to play. They found a few quick baskets early. That usually fuels us a little bit.”
PB junior center Izzy Knotts led all scorers with 22 points.
“She just usually outworks and out hustles everybody. And she is only getting better. She is adding more to her game. All the girls have improved as the year has gone on.”
With the victory, Philip Barbour will play in the state tournament for the fifth consecutive season. The Colts are the No. 7 seed and they will meet No. 2 Williamstown in the quarterfinal round March 11 at 7:15 p.m.
“These girls just work their butts off. Most of them, their sport is not even basketball, it is volleyball or soccer. They just come out and work hard and try to out hustle everybody.”
Miley Tingler led Petersburg (15-7) with 18 points.