Oak Hill advances to second round

Sports

March 17, 2010

By Steve Keenan Sports Editor

CHARLESTON —

Although shaky at times, Oak Hill was successful Wednesday in its first step toward a possible Class AA state basketball championship. The Red Devils used a decisive spurt beginning midway through the third period to defeat Keyser 63-38 and advance a Friday morning semifinal showdown with Weir, which beat Sissonville 54-42. Jack Flournoy scored 19 points and cleared 10 rebounds to pace Oak Hill (19-4). DeAndré Leonard scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and Kalif Wright had 12 points and 10 boards. Leonard’s play in the third period proved to be big for the Red Devils. Leading just 35-28 at the 4:08 mark, the Devils got a three-pointer from Leonard to go up 10, 38-28. Later he canned a jumper to put Oak Hill up 40-30, and then he rebounded a missed ball and assisted Flournoy’s goal that made it 42-30. The lead had ballooned to 48-30 by the end of the quarter with Flournoy scoring the final eight points. Keyser never threatened in the final period. Keyser (13-11) was led by 11 points from Wes Washington. The Golden Tornado shot just 22.6 percent from the floor. “It’s good to win,” said Oak Hill coach Fred Ferri. “I wasn’t very happy with the first half. “DeAndré made a big difference. ... He turned the tide of the game for us.” Tipoff is at 9:30 a.m. Friday. For a complete game story, see the Tribune Web site tomorrow.