In their final game of the season, a sectional tourney loss at Northwest, junior Gavin Jarvis led the West Union Dragons with 11 points. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
West Union season closes with 76-23 loss at Northwest
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
A season behind the eight ball came to a rapid finish on February 19 for first-year head coach Roy Cooper and the West Union Dragons. Behind the eight ball? Yes, it seemed as if Coach Cooper was dealing with every conceivable issue that can plague a coach, academic issues, discipline issues and injury issues just to name a few. With all that, the Dragons managed just three wins in the regular season, defeating St. Patrick, Ripley and Portsmouth Clay. With that regular season behind them, the West Union squad opened Division III sectional tournament play with a trip to Northwest High School to face the Mohawks in a sectional semi-final contest.
Playing shorthanded once again, the Dragons did not put up much of a fight at Northwest as the Mohawks dominated from the opening tip on their way to advancing with a 76-23 victory.
Things got real ugly real fast for West Union as they faced a Mohawk attack in the opening quarter, one where the Dragons put a zero on the scoreboard while the home team racked up 20. In high school basketball, there aren’t many teams that can overcome that kid of early deficit.
The West Union offense found a little life in the second period, putting up 10 points but still found themselves starting at a 37-10 halftime hole.
The inability for the Dragons to contain the Northwest offense in any way continued into the second half as the host Mohawks burned the nets for 24 in the third period to build their lead even further, up 61-21 with now the OHSAA running clock rule in effect for the final eight minutes, Remarkably, the Mohawks tallied 15 more points in that rapidly moving quarter while the Dragons managed just a paltry two and the final horn on the West Union season sounded in a 53-point loss.
The final state sheet clearly showed the numbers of a lackluster West Union offensive effort, beyond giving up the 76 points on defense. The Dragons shot just 16% from the field (8 for 51) and just 12% from beyond the three-point line (2 for 17). They did hit 6 of 6 free throw attempts , but also committed 15 turnovers. By contrast, Northwest shot 49% from the field (29 of 59) and 38% from three -point land (11 of 29). ON their home floor, the Mohawks were a perfect 7 for 7 from the charity stripe.
Junior forward Gavin Jarvis led West Union scorers with 11 points, while senior Isaac Harding closed out his high school career with 6 points. It was also the final game for one other Dragon senior, Brennan Pollitt.
The Dragons closed out the 2023-24 campaign with a final overall record of 3-19.
