Mountaineer Win Streak Continues With Home Victory Over Southwestern

Southwestern leapt out to a quick 5-0 lead thanks to a Luke Hatcher layup and a Jared Robins three-pointer. CJ Ward (12 PTS, 6 REB) and Bradley Russell (9 PTS) brought early energy. Ward’s offensive rebounds and putbacks tied the game, while Russell scored inside and completed an and-1 to help Schreiner gain its first lead at 7-5. Sebastian Loder kept the Pirates in it early with three first-half 3-pointers (finishing with 18 PTS). His third triple knotted the game at 20-20 midway through the half.

Schreiner’s momentum soared when Beau Cervantes dished back-to-back alley-oop passes to Kamden Ross (who recorded yet another double-double with 12 PTS, 13 REB), igniting the crowd. Another and-1 from Russell, a fast-break layup by Ward and a 3 from Cervantes gave Schreiner its largest first-half advantage at 40-25 with under two minutes to go.  Southwestern capitalized on some late-half Mountaineer turnovers and chipped the deficit back to 40-31 going into halftime.

Less than a minute into the half, Ross picked up his fourth foul and had to sit. Southwestern seized the opportunity, storming back behind Luke Mills (8 PTS) and Loder, eventually taking a brief lead at 51-50. With 10 minutes left, Ross returned despite four fouls. He stabilized Schreiner’s interior game, scoring on several spinning layups and drawing fouls.

Justin Gooden (7 PTS, 2 STL) made key steals leading to transition buckets, while Johnson (10 PTS, 6 REB, 4 BLK) continued to protect the paint. Clinging to a 61-60 advantage with just over four minutes to go, the Mountaineers forced a Pirates turnover (a strip by Ward) and Johnson delivered a clutch block. Gooden buried a huge three-pointer, and another defensive stop led to a runaway layup, extending the Schreiner lead to 70-60.

Southwestern refused to fold, trimming the deficit to 76-73. But Cervantes (14 PTS, 4 STL) calmly drained two free throws, and Ross capped the night with a final block, sealing the 78-73 victory.

The Mountaineers are back in action for Senior night and their home finale against TLU tomorrow at 6pm in the Event Center.