MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In a matchup of championship teams from last winter, Morgantown bested Laurel Highlands, Pa. in a preseason scrimmage Tuesday evening. The Mohigans won three of the four quarters in varsity play by an aggregate score of 73-57.
The scoreboard reset after each quarter. Morgantown won the opening frame 20-15 and the second quarter 23-18. The teams finished the third quarter tied at 13. MHS won the final varsity frame 17-11. An additional junior varsity period was won by Morgantown, 17-8.
Morgantown won the Class AAAA state championship last March. Laurel Highlands won the WPIAL 5A title and advanced to the PIAA 5A state quarterfinals.
“I like my juniors that came up,” said Morgantown head coach Dave Tallman. “They paid their dues on JV. But they are good players. And you have some guys returning from the state championship team. It is a good mix. We are not anywhere close to where we want to be right now. But that was a good scrimmage for us to get film and continue to get better.
Brody Davis led the Mohigans with 19 points and Sharron Young added 14 points. The Mohigans will open the regular season on December 9th against Washington.
Rodney Gallagher takes the court in Morgantown
WVU football commit Rodney Gallagher will make Morgantown his home next year. On Tuesday, he scored a game-high 21 points for the Mustangs.
“That’s a great team,” Gallagher said of Morgantown. “I definitely think they are going to win another state and go back-to-back. They definitely pushed us hard. Sharron, he did a great job and helped me a lot to get back in basketball shape.”
Gallagher is just two weeks removed from leading the Laurel Highlands football team (8-3) to the second round of the Pennsylvania state playoffs. Although he is expected to play wide receiver at WVU, Gallagher played quarterback for the Mustangs this fall. He passed for 1,272 yards and 13 touchdowns. Gallagher also led the team in rushing with 690 yards and 11 touchdowns.
“I had one of my best years overall and the team also. We did a great job and made a lot of history this year. It was a lot of fun,” Gallagher said.
Gallagher played AAU basketball against many of the Morgantown players growing up. Laurel Highlands has a much younger roster this winter after last year’s championship season.
“A lot of our senior guys left last year. These new guys played a lot of JV last year. They are just trying to step up,” Gallagher said.
Gallagher averaged 18.6 points per game last winter on a Laurel Highlands team that posted a 27-1 record.
“Rodney Gallagher is a heck of a player,” Tallman said. “It was good to get him to Morgantown. And hopefully he felt the love tonight from the Mountaineer fans.”
Gallagher remains committed to the WVU football program after initially offering his verbal commitment on May 25.