LOST CREEK, W.Va. — South Harrison’s boys basketball team entered Monday’s matchup against Williamstown 0-3 in one-possession games with losses in all six contests decided by fewer than 10 points.
A two-point road loss to the Yellowjackets in late December factored into both marks.
The law of averages was bound to catch up, and the Hawks did enough down the stretch to avoid another close loss to Williamstown by getting one free throw from Graham Sass with 1.7 seconds remaining to break a tie in a 68-67 victory.
“Young teams have to find a way to win,” Hawks’ head coach Zak Bart said. “A lot of times they will stay in games. We’ve been a team that has found a way to lose games this season, and we about did, but thankfully we made just one more play. Our guys did a great job executing that last set on the fly without having to use a timeout, and that was the difference.”
SHHS (7-8) never trailed in the fourth quarter, which began with the teams tied at 55.
A jumper from Jerimiah Kreiling put the Hawks on top to stay, before Collin Seguin scored from close range to double the lead.
When Kreiling drained a three-pointer off the wing with 3:50 remaining, the Hawks led 64-58.
Although Cedric Davis countered with a triple for WHS (9-7), Saas converted an uncontested layup off a Yellowjacket turnover that allowed the home team to lead by five.
The margin was still five with the Hawks in possession out of a timeout, but a turnover led to Nate Nicely’s layup, and when freshman Kenny Atkinson followed with a basket off his drive, the visitors trailed by one with 45 seconds left.
Williamstown had only one team foul at that point, but committed four over a 14-second stretch to send Kreiling to the free-throw line. He made 1-of-2 attempts, and the Yellowjackets countered with a driving basket from Wyatt Powell, who was fouled in the process with 19 seconds left.
With a chance to give Williamstown a late lead, however, Powell missed the foul shot, and though Davis momentarily appeared to come up with the offensive rebound, he was ruled out of bounds.
That allowed the Hawks to regain possession, and Saas drove to his right and attempted a shot that was off the mark, but drew a foul just before time expired.
“He’ll tell you he was a little sporadic tonight and it about cost us at the end, but the guy wants the ball in his hands at the end and you can’t ask for more than that,” Bart said.
Saas made the first of two free throws, and with the visitors out of timeouts, they were forced to throw up a lengthy three-pointer that was ruled to have been attempted after time had expired anyhow.
“I told our seniors yesterday in a huddle as we ended practice in their three years of varsity basketball, they’ve not really had a statement win,” Bart said. “Williamstown, even though they’re reloading, is probably top program probably in the LKC, so to get it over them should be a special win.”
Saas makes 1-of-2 free throws with 1.7 seconds left to break a tie and send South Harrison to 68-67 win over Williamstown. #wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/xomZEFBgco
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) February 10, 2026
The Yellowjackets shot 10 for 16, made six threes and did not turn it over in the first quarter, which they finished with a 26-18 lead.
When Tyler Keiser sank his third triple 4:53 before halftime, the WHS advantage was up to 35-18, and all but 11 points had come from beyond the arc.
“They shot the ball well, but I thought they shot the ball well because we were such a step slow to every gap that they shot every drive and kick imaginable,” Bart said. “We dug down deep. There was no panic and those guys kept fighting. Luckily we went on a bit of a run to get right back in it.”
The Hawks then picked up the pressure full court, and it helped turn things around in their favor.
Seguin scored the next six points as part of an 8-0 spurt, while consecutive triples from Cooper Sanders and Mason Belcastro brought SHHS to within 37-32.
Atkinson’s floater 2 seconds before halftime allowed the Yellowjackets to lead 39-34 at the break.
“It was just soft pressure and we threw it all over the gym,” WHS head coach Scott Sauro said.
Sanders’ trey 3:20 into the second half tied the game at 43, and when Adam Marple followed with a bucket inside, the Hawks led for the first time since 10-9.
Saas’ corner three made it 55-50, before the Yellowjackets scored the final five points of the third, including a conventional three-point play from Powell that tied the contest at 55.
Atkinson led all players with 20 points, Keiser scored 11 and Powell added nine with six assists.
Williamstown had all 12 of its turnovers over the final three quarters and made only 5-of-13 free throws.
“That is impactful in a one-point game,” Sauro said. “You can’t do that at home. You surely can’t do that on the road. That’s a lesson we have to learn.”
Saas led South Harrison with 18 points, while Marple scored 12 on 6-of-9 shooting and added a game-best seven rebounds.
Seguin scored 10 and dished out five assists, while Kreiling scored nine and Sanders added eight points.
The Hawks had eight of their 11 turnovers in the first half.
“We’re getting so much more comfortable with our system and the reads in the offense,” Bart said. “Guys are starting to think less and the spacing is clearing up. Marple was due to step up big for us tonight and he really stepped up big in that third quarter.”