East Hardy wins first boys basketball area championship

BAKER, W.Va. — For the first time in school history, East Hardy has won a boys basketball area championship.

The Cougars finished 21-5, won 16 consecutive games before falling in the state semifinals — their third straight trip to the Final Four — and capped the season with their maiden area crown.

With standout guard Mason Hamilton 100% healthy, East Hardy did not lose a game.

"That's great," East Hardy head coach Chris Hahn said of the award. "Any time you can get a team honor, and I think this group deserves it probably more than any group around just because they do play so well as a team, and they complemented each other and nobody was selfish.

"Just from a coaches perspective, it's just great to see the kids get the recognition for all the work that they're putting in. First time in East Hardy basketball history."

The area championship is decided based on the results of the final Area Top 5 media poll.

East Hardy received four first-place votes for 28 points, and Fort Hill (15-7) copped the other two for 23 points. They were followed by Allegany (15-9) with 15 points, Southern (15-9) with 10 and Frankfort (15-10) with eight.

Mountain Ridge (13-10) and Petersburg (17-8) also received votes.

The area sportswriter poll is voted on by Jeff Landes, Kyle Bennett, Jordan Kendall and Alex Rychwalski (Cumberland Times-News); Chapin Jewell (Mineral News-Tribune) and Trevor King (Garrett County Republican).

The poll encompasses Allegany, Garrett, Mineral, Hampshire, Grant and Hardy counties.

East Hardy has captured one other area title in another sport.

The Cougars' 2006 baseball team, led by legendary skipper Raymond Snapp, won the area championship with a 29-2 finish.

East Hardy flowed through its 6-foot-7 big man Gideon Good, who averaged a double-double with 17 points and 11.7 boards with five blocks a night.

In two games against Fort Hill, Good had 27 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks and 18 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks.

Evan Hamilton posted 13.2 points, 4.4 steals and 4 assists a game, Mason Hamilton tallied 10.7 points and 3.1 assists, Trevor Roof averaged 7.7 points, Aubrey McCullough added 7.0 points, and Joseph Price finished with 6.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest.

East Hardy began the season 5-4, and its first eight games were without Mason Hamilton, who was working his way back from patellar tendon surgery he underwent in August.

Hamilton returned to the lineup in a somewhat limited capacity for a 64-58 overtime defeat to Fort Hill on Jan. 21, the Cougars' second defeat to the Sentinels, and East Hardy didn't lose again until the Class A state semifinals.

Hamilton played just eight minutes in the team's season-ending 55-54 loss to Greater Beckley Christian after re-aggravating his knee in the quarterfinals.

"Early in the season, we're just chomping at the bit going, 'Man, wait 'til we've got everybody healthy. When we do, then we're going to be deep and we're going to be good.'" Hahn said.

"When we had our full group, we played with so much confidence. Every night that we showed up in the gym, the kids believed they were supposed to win, and they were doing it with the mission of winning state championship."

East Hardy's area title breaks a streak of three straight won by Fort Hill. The Sentinels' 13 area crowns are the most all-time, one ahead of crosstown rival Allegany.