Indians roll past Paw Paw, 67-30

Berkeley Springs defeated Paw Paw 67-30 on Friday, February 2, in Berkeley Springs to sweep the season series between the two longtime rivals.

The rematch was similar, with Berkeley Springs racing out to a big first-quarter lead, before coasting to another lopsided win. Paw Paw used to give Berkeley Springs fits on the hardwoods, but recently the size differential between the two schools has been apparent.

"Paw Paw plays hard, but to be honest with you, they don't have the talent they've had in the past," said Berkeley Springs coach Chad Brinegar. "It certainly is no knock on Paw Paw, their kids play with a lot of heart and Bradford is a really nice ball player."

Nathan Sirbaugh and Lenny Roach were on fire in the opening quarter for Berkeley Springs, scoring 11 and eight points, respectively. Sirbaugh hit five baskets, one from behind the three-point arc, while Roach, getting his first varsity start because of an illness to Foster Sirbaugh, hit a pair of three-point baskets and a deuce. The duo helped enable the Tribe secure a 22-8 advantage heading into the second quarter of play.

The Indians spread the scoring out in the second stanza, with seven different players scoring points, but the result was nearly the same with Berkeley Springs outscoring Paw Paw 23-8, for an insurmountable 45-16 half-time lead.

The Tribe pulled off the dogs in the second half, but the Indians still coasted to the 37-point win.

Paw Paw's Mike Bradford had an outstanding game, despite the loss, scoring 26 points, including 21 points outside the three-point arc.

Nathan Sirbaugh led Berkeley Springs with 18 points, Roach added 13, Foster Sirbaugh eight, Jeremy Michael seven, Ian Whibley six, Dylan Kraft four, while Brain Ness, Sammy Trump and Chris Sipe scored two points each.

"This was good opportunity to get some of the younger players some experience," Brinegar said. "They don't always get rewarded for the hard work they put in every day at practice, so it is always nice to get them some significant minutes."

Earlier in the week, January 30, the Indians were not so fortunate, falling to Musselman 49-41 in Bunker Hill.

For Berkeley Springs it was a combination of factors that led to the loss. For one thing, they were ice cold, making only eight of 41 attempts from behind the three-point line. Secondly, they had several kids suffering from the flu and injuries and lastly, they did not play good team defense, according to Brinegar.

"When you have guys sick and injured you have to have other guys step up and that didn't happen," Brinegar said. "It is more important than ever to play good, tough defense when your offense is sputtering and we didn't do that either. When you add the fact that we were as cold as ice shooting the ball, there were just too many factors to overcome."

Nathan Sirbaugh scored four of his six points in the first quarter, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Applemen from grabbing a 14-8 lead. The Indians methodically chipped away at the Musselman lead and finally tied the contest at 18—all late in the opening half, before Musselman converted a two-point basket for a 20-18 half-time lead.

Sammy Trump hit a three-point play to open the second half, giving the Indians a 21-20 lead, but the Applemen outscored Berkeley Springs 16-9 over the final seven minutes of the quarter to take a 36-30 score into the final eight minutes of the game.

The Tribe kept it close in the final quarter and had a couple of opportunities, but Musselman was able to hold them off for the eight-point win.

"We had a chance in the final quarter, but they got some key offensive rebounds that just killed us," Brinegar said

L.J. Wright led Berkeley Springs with 17 points, Nathan Sirbaugh scored six, Foster Sirbaugh and Trump five apiece, Josh Wise and Robbie Williams three each, while rounded out the scoring with Ness two.

Ryan Trochimowicz led Musselman with 20 points.

Berkeley Springs, 8-8, plays at East Hardy this Friday, February 9, before hosting Mussleman on Tuesday, February 13.