The Potomac Highlands Dispatch - the online newspaper

Down by 9 late in third quarter, Clay and Hartman spin Golden Tornado past Huskies
Keyser outscores Northern Garrett 24-3 in fourth quarter
Visiting team out rebounds home team Huskies, 52-28
Huskies' three-game win streak snapped

By The Potomac Highlands Dispatch
ACCIDENT, Jan. 4 - Peyton Hartman said it came down simply to which team had more hustle.

If Hartman is correct, then on Tuesday night, that trait was bestowed upon the Golden Tornado as No. 3 Keyser overcame a nine-point deficit late in the third quarter and outscored No. 7 Northern Garrett 24-3 in a decisive fourth quarter en route to a 77-62 Appalachian Mountain Athletic Conference victory.

Keyser improved to 4-2 overall and 4-1 in AMAC play. Northern Garrett dropped to 0-2 in the conference and 3-2 overall.

Yes, Keyser won by 15 points. Yes, they dominated the fourth quarter. Northern Garrett took a 5-2 lead 65 seconds into the game. The Huskies led 59-53 heading into the final period and with 5 minutes and 11 seconds left to play and still held a slim 59-57 advantage.

"People are going to look at the newspaper and think this was a blowout," said Golden Tornado coach Gary Liston. "Really, it wasn't."

Because it was only then that Keyser got hot. At the same, the Huskies went cold in the Igloo, the name given to the inside of their own gymnasium.

Keyser trailed 23-12 with 1:35 left in the first quarter and was on pace to allow 92 points in the game - an arguably difficult obstacle over which to achieve victory, even for the uptempo Golden Tornado.

Keyser closed within seven points after the first period after Brandon Clay (11 points, 10 rebounds) grabbed an offensive rebounds and put it back for the not-so-easy bucket. Then Wes Washington made a deft pass - one of many on the night - to Dustin Fertig for a layup to creep within a respectable seven-point deficit.

The Golden Tornado were in the game. It seemed as if they were poised to take control of it when they opened the second quarter of play with three consecutive field goals - one by Clay, two by Washington - to trail just 23-22.

Every time that Keyser had a chance to take the lead, however, Northern Garrett made another basket. In this case, Steven Holtschneider (6 points) hit two free throws and Austin Doerr (4 points) hit a field goal with 4:32 to go that gave the Huskies a 27-24 lead.

Keyser tied the game at 27-27 on the strength of a bucket by Damon Thorne (who had grabbed the offensive rebound) and Dylan Evans, who hit the second of two foul shots to knot the game.

Then forward Patrick Sines (9 points) made a basket and hit three of four shots from the charity stripe to give Northern Garrett a bit of breathing room along with a 32-27 lead.

It didn't last.

Clay grabbed another offensive rebound (one of 10 on the night) and Peyton Hartman hit two free throws - he shot 80 percent from the line for the game - to pull Keyser within 32-31.

Huskies guard Matt Gibson, who finished with 24 points, made two straight buckets - including one at the buzzer - to give Northern Garrett a 36-31 lead at halftime.

The teams continued to trade buckets - Keyser kept creeping closer and Northern Garrett continued to hold them off midway through the third period. The Huskies led 44-42, then went on an 8-0 run - highlighted by Gibson's four-point play, including one of his three 3-pointers on the day - for a 10-point lead with 3:22 left in the third quarter.

Still, the Golden Tornado chipped away. Gibson's steal and easy layup with 1:44 to go in the third returned Northern Garrett's lead to seven points and the home team led 59-53 with one quarter to go.

At the start of the fourth quarter, it appeared as if nothing would go right for Keyser to complete any sort of comeback. Hartman missed two free throws just 27 seconds into the final period. Jamison Jones missed the front end of a one-and-one for what could have pulled the Golden Tornado to within three points.

Turns out, they didn't need them. Hartman found his outside shot and hit a 3-pointer with 6:11 to play to make up for those three lost points. Fertig stole the ball, drew a foul and made one of two free throws as Keyser trailed just 59-57. Then Hartman drained another 3-pointer.

Northern Garrett coach Chris Elliot said that bucket go to his players. He saw their shoulders slump.

"I really expected us to win tonight," Elliot said.

It wasn't mean to be. Hartman's 3-pointer gave Keyser a 60-59 lead - its first since leading 2-0 early in the first period - with 5:11 to play. Hartman missed on his next 3-point attempt, but made a two-point field goal with 3:16 to go for a 62-59 Golden Tornado lead.

Gibson hit two foul shots to pull the Huskies within 62-61, but that's the closest they'd get. Thorne hit a bucket for two of his 13 points, Washington took a pass to the bucket for a 66-61 advantage and Thorne hit two more field goals - and a free throw in a three-point play with 2:15 left in the game - as Keyser led 71-61.

"You can probably never say you're not concern," Liston said of his Keyser team being down so much, so late. "In the first quarter, we were on pace to give up 80 points. I kept searching for a combination ..."

Jones and Evans played great off the bench and "throne went crazy" in the second half, Liston said.

"When we play ... we're pretty good," Liston said.