In a battle of number one ranked teams, Class AA number one Poca handed Class AAA number one Logan its first loss of the season 66-44 Friday night at Allen Osborne Court.
In the only meeting between the two schools, reigning Evans Award winner and Gatorade state player of the year, Isaac McKneely led all scorers with 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting and was 3-of-5 from 3-point range as Poca outscored Logan 31-17 in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Wildcats.
Not only was it Logan’s first loss of the season, but it was the first loss in the Cardinal Conference for the Wildcats, who fell to 6-1 in the Cardinal and 12-1 overall.
The Wildcats trail Poca by a half game in the Cardinal Conference. The Dots improved to 7-1 in conference play and 14-1 overall.
The game wasn’t as lopsided as the final score may indicate even though Logan never led and tied the game 24-24 in the third quarter with a 7-2 run to start the quarter, however, the Dots would outscore the Wildcats 11-3 to take a 35-27 lead after three quarters of play.
The fourth quarter belonged to Poca as the Dots were successful on 10-of-12 field goal attempts in the quarter while Logan struggled to keep pace and made just 5-of-17 attempts in the fourth including 1-of-8 attempts from 3-point range.
Jackson Toney was the only other Poca player to reach double figures finishing with 12 points.
Garrett Williamson was the only Wildcat in double figures finishing with 16 points on just 3-of-11 shooting but was 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
Poca shot 61 percent from the field as the Dots were successful on 25-of-41 field goal attempts while limiting the Wildcats to 36.1 percent (13-for-36) from the field. Logan’s 44 points was the lowest scoring outpoint of the season and it marked just the third time this season that the Wildcats failed to score 60 points or more in a contest.
Poca will host Class AA No. 10 Buffalo (Putnam) on Tuesday at Allen Osborne Court. The Dots defeated the Bison 60-31 on Jan. 4 at Buffalo.
Logan will take part in the Par Mar Shootout at the Big House at West Virginia State University on Monday. The Wildcats will face Class AAA No. 3 Fairmont Senior. The Polar Bears enter the contest with a 13-0 record and are the lone remaining undefeated team in Class AAA.
Poca 66, Logan 46
Logan (12-1)
Scotty Browning 2-11 0-1 5, Garrett Williamson 3-11 8-8 16, Aiden Slack 2-3 1-2 6, Jaxon Cogar 3-4 0-2 6, Jackson Tackett 2-3 4-6 8, Derrick Browning 1-2 0-0 3, Chance Maynard 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 13-36 13-17 44
Poca (14-1)
Toby Payne 2-5 0-1 4, Isaac McKneely 9-12 5-6 26, Kambel Meeks 0-2 0-0 0, Jackson Toney 4-8 3-5 12, Ethan Maynor 4-6 0-0 8, Malakai Woodard-Jones 1-1 0-1 2, Zi’on McGaley 1-4 3-3 5,
Hunter Toney 4-4 1-3 9. Totals: 25-41 12-19 66
Logan 4 13 10 17- 44
Poca 8 14 13 31- 66
3-point field goals- Logan 5-17 (S. Browning 1-7, Williamson 2-6, Slack 1-2, Tackett 0-1, D. Browning 1-1), Poca 4-11 (McKneely 3-5, Meeks 0-1, J. Toney 1-3, McCaley 0-2). Rebounds- Logan 23 (Tackett 9), Poca 22 (McKneely 6). Assists- Logan 9 (Williamson 5), Poca 7 (McKneely 2). Total fouls- Logan 21, Poca 18. Fouled out- Cogar, Payne.