SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A 33-point performance from Noah lewis and solid contributions throughout their lineup allowed George Washington to claim their first Mountain State Athletic Conference Championship since 2023 with an 81-72 win over Parkersburg South at the South Charleston Community Center. GW posted runner-up finishes in each of the last two seasons.
“Our kids really, really wanted this,” said George Washington head coach Rick Greene. “This was our eighth championship game in a row. Teams beat us the last two but we felt like we had a chance to win those two. They really wanted to finish it and get a championship.
“That’s two really good teams. I think they will be at the [Charleston] Civic Center. Hopefully we will be and we may very well see them again.”
In a game where both teams enjoyed lengthy scoring runs, Parkersburg South (15-5) scored the final nine points in the first quarter to take a 22-20 lead. South added five more points to open the second quarter to build a 27-20 advantage. However, GW took a lead they would not relinquish with a 16-2 burst. Greene’s club led 36-29 at halftime. Tyler Mattox scored 13 of his 20 points in the first half.
“I thought our kids settled down and hit some shots. I thought Tyler was great early.
“They all contributed. I thought our bench did a really good job. When they help and take some pressure off Noah, obviously it makes us a lot better.”
South crept within a point (42-41) early in the third before GW answered with a 12-0 run. PSHS drew within three points (67-64) midway through the fourth quarter, but they were unable to take the lead away.
In addition to Lewis’ (33) and Mattox’s (20) double-digit scoring efforts, Dominic Sprouse added 18 points for GW (16-2).
“We’ll catch our breath. And then we have Senior Night coming up, which is good. Then we go to University and I have a lot of respect for Joe [Schmidle]. Then you are finishing at Woodrow [Wilson] and then at home with Morgantown. I think we will stay focused.”
Harry Silvis led South with 28 points while Taj Joyce added 27.