Dec. 5—KEYSER, W.Va. — Behind 19 points apiece from Camren Wilkes and Eugene Bryant, WVU Potomac State College cruised to a 96-76 victory over Frederick on Wednesday.
“We came out with energy,” Potomac State assistant coach Brady Folk said. “Our biggest thing is taking care of the basketball. If we take care of the basketball, there’s no one that can play with us. We’re our own biggest enemy.”
Folk was the acting head coach for Ryan Streets who has been suspended three games for a recruiting violation.
The Catamounts (5-4, 2-0 NJCAA Region 20) never trailed, scoring the game’s first seven points.
Potomac State forced four steals in the first seven minutes, turning into six points.
The Catamounts forced six turnovers in the half, four off steals.
“They don’t have too many ball handlers, so our game plan was to pressure them, get the ball out of number 11’s (Kylan Johnson’s) hands and execute off turnovers,” Folk said.
Leading 15-11 with 11:52 remaining before halftime, Potomac State went on an 11-2 run.
Wilkes hit three 3-pointers within about a four-minute span, pushing the Catamount lead to 26-13 with 8:58 left.
Wilkes scored 13 points in the first half and finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds, a steal and a block.
“He’s averaging 30 points a game, they were face-guarding him, they were worried about him,” Folk said. “We had other guys stepping up knocking down shots. It’s a team effort. Cam is a heck of a basketball player, but we’re in conference play now so they’re gonna start face guarding.”
The Cougars (2-2, 0-2 Region 20) answered with a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 28-23.
Kylan Johnson led Frederick with two assists and a 3-pointer during the run.
“It’s a mindset, you can’t get down,” Folk said. “Basketball’s a game of runs. They’re gonna go on a run, but we’re gonna bounce back with a run two times as strong.”
Johnson finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and a block.
Off a Cougar turnover, the Catamounts pushed the lead to 33-23 on a layup from Bryant off an Andre Grant assist.
The lead remained at double digits the rest of the half and was extended to 12 on the final play.
Bryant grabbed an offensive rebound in the final seconds and scored on a putback at the buzzer to give Potomac State a 43-31 halftime lead.
“That’s a good momentum boost, we always wanna get him on that rim,” Folk said. “Last year, same thing. He’s a high-energy booster, you could see when he came in the whole game flipped.”
Bryant scored 15 points in the first half and tied Wilkes for a team-high 19, adding eight rebounds.
Potomac State was a streaky team in the first half, shooting 16 of 41 (39%) from the field and 6 of 18 (33%) from deep.
“First half shots just weren’t falling,” Folk said. “We were getting open looks, we were executing our plays perfect, just couldn’t knock them down. That comes with the pressure they were playing with. We practiced all week for them to play zone, and they came out in man.”
The Cougars shot 11 of 31 (35%) from the field and 5 of 17 (29%) from long range.
The Catamounts took control in the second half, going on a 32-14 run in the first 13 minutes to push the lead up to 75-55.
“Just came down to knocking down shots,” Folk said. “We’re the better team, it just came down to knocking down shots. We’re our biggest enemy, if we take care of the basketball, we’re gonna beat every team by 20.”
Andre Grant was key for Potomac State, scoring 11 of his 14 points after halftime.
He added four rebounds, three assists and a steal.
“He’s great on both sides of the ball,” Folk said. “He’s an amazing defender, in my opinion the best defender in the entire conference. There’s not many guys that can get past him, he’s a Division I defender.”
Damian Thompson finished with 12 points and three assists for Potomac State.
The Catamounts shot 16 of 29 (55%) from the field in the second half compared to Frederick’s 15 of 38 (39%).
“The way we celebrate each other no matter who’s scoring,” Folk said of what impressed him most. “I was just impressed with how we played together, didn’t turn the basketball over.”
Kentavious Dancey led the Cougars with 17 points, adding six rebounds, four assists and a steal.
Aiden Igwebe scored 11 points with six rebounds for Frederick.
Potomac State hosts Chesapeake on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Jordan Kendall is a Sports Writer for the Cumberland Times-News. Email him with scores and story suggestions at jkendall@times-news.com.
