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SPORTS
Prep nets win over Marietta
Huntington Prep's Andrew Wiggins soars for a layup over Andy Stegman of Marietta College JV during the basketball game on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, at Barboursville Middle School.
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BARBOURSVILLE -- On Sunday, Huntington Prep Academy boys basketball coach Rob Fulford wanted to be on Wheel of Fortune with $250 to spare.
He needed to buy a vowel -- the letter 'E.'
Fulford watched as his team went through plenty of motions during Sunday's contest. However one motion -- Emotion -- was not one of them in an uninspired 83-71 win over Marietta College JV in the Barboursville Middle School gym.
"I was definitely disappointed with our energy level," Fulford said after a 20-minute talk with his team in the locker room. "I think sometimes we get in a mindset where we think our athletic ability could take over defensively. I don't think the guys competed today like Huntington Prep is known for. That was frustrating."
The Express grabbed the lead for good late in the first quarter, but were never able to complete shake the Pioneers, who used solid execution on the offensive end and sheer hustle to stay in the contest throughout.
Huntington Prep was playing without injured starter JaVontae Hawkins and starting guard Evan Payne, who was suspended a game for disciplinary reasons.
Fulford said the two guards are the emotional leaders of the team and their absence showed during the contest.
"Those are our two energy guys and we know that," Fulford said. "They bring an energy that allows the rest of the guys to pick up energy."
With the game close late in the first half, Huntington Prep needed an energy boost and got it from Andrew Wiggins -- the 16-year-old phenom from Toronto who is rated No. 1 in the Class of 2014.
After scoring a basket while being fouled, Wiggins took one dribble off a pass at the top of the key, took flight just one step inside the foul line and soared over Marietta's Andy Stegman for a dunk that brought a chorus of oohs from the crowd on-hand.
"I knew my team wasn't scoring and playing with intensity like we usually do, and we needed someone to step up and a big play to happen," Wiggins said. "I saw the opening in the lane and someone tried to stop me by taking a charge. I don't know why he did that, but he paid the consequence."
The dunk was exactly what Huntington Prep needed as the team started the second half with a 17-7 run to put the game out of reach.
Marietta closed to within eight points late in the fourth quarter, but the Express were too much down the stretch.
In all, the Pioneers hit nearly 50 percent of their shots from the field with many open looks coming as Huntington Prep failed to communicate in the screen-laden offense for Marietta.
"I thought we would guard pretty well early on, but after 15 or 20 seconds we would break down," Fulford said. "Those are things we have to get better at. It doesn't concern me, but that's something we have to address."
Wiggins finished with 27 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, five blocks and two steals in the victory. Xavier Rathan-Mayes added 19 points while Elijah Macon -- a WVU commit -- added 17 points, including seven points during the big run in the third quarter. Negus Webster-Chan added 11 in the win
Marietta placed five players in double-figures, led by Brian Crager's 18 points. Garrett Stevenson had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Pioneers, who had Stegman, a former Wheelersburg standout, in the starting lineup.
MARIETTA COLLEGE JV 15 20 16 20 -- 71: Bloomfield 11, Foreman 10, Crager 18, Stevenson 16, Morris 10, Davis 6
HUNTINGTON PREP 19 21 23 20 -- 83: Rathan-Mayes 19, Webster-Chan 11, Wiggins 27, Jankovic 2, Macon 17, Provo 1, Clair 4, Williams 2.
