By BOB REDD
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
PRINCETON — It was a game with two different Views and it took overtime for the PikeView Panthers to defeat the Mount View Golden Knights 62-58 in the W.Va. Class AA, Region III, Section 2 semifinals Tuesday night at Princeton High School.
“The key is our kids just keep getting better,” said PikeView head coach Lindsey Jones. “It’s a direct reflection of the kids learning what we are trying to teach them.”
From the onset action was fast, furious and physical. Paco Bonds scored the game’s first point 29 seconds in to give Mount View a 1-0 lead and back-and-forth it would go from there. PikeView knotted the game at two, five and nine before the Knights pulled away. Ishmyle Sawyers’ shot off the glass at the first quarter buzzer gave Mount View a 13-9 lead.
In the second quarter the view changed and it was the Panthers’ turn to take control of the contest. Tanner Farley was hot from behind the arc, dropping in three three-point baskets, converting on another three-point play, and scoring 14 of PikeView’s 18 second quarter points, giving his team a 27-23 halftime lead.
Mount View stormed back in the third and the view from the Golden Knights’ cheering section was one of joy as the brown-and-gold outscored the black-and-red 15-5 and recaptured the lead. Ishmayle Sawyers had three key baskets and the Knights’ defense held PikeView to one field goal and three free throws in the period.
Up 38-32 entering the fourth quarter, things began to unravel for Mount View in the final stanza. Jerry Saunders fouled out with 4:43 to play, but seconds later PikeView lost its big man, Logan McKinney to fouls. The Panthers pulled to within two on two occasions, the last coming at the two minute mark on a basket by Jason Weitzel to make it 46-44.
The Knights had possession and appeared to be playing for a final shot with 1:05 to go when they threw the ball away.
Bradley Flinchum dropped in two free throws with 43 ticks on the clock to tie the game at 48. Mount View pushed the ball down court and missed a shot and PikeView grabbed the rebound with 22 seconds left and called time with 14 seconds to go. The Knights played tough defense, forcing the Panthers to call time their last timeout with 3.4 to play, to avoid a five-second call. Farley’s shot at the buzzer rimmed out, sending the game to overtime.
In the extra period Mount View drew first blood before a three by Austin Cordell and a three-point play by Flinchum put the Panthers up 54-50. Mount view fought back with a basket by Antoine Calloway, a free throw by Maurice Brown and a putback by Bonds pulled the Knights to within one at 56-55 with 1:22 to play in the extra period. Mount View took the lead on Brown’s hook shot with a minute left.
PikeView did not give up. Weitzel hit a three with 39 seconds to play and Wood converted a three-point-play with 18.4 left to put the Panthers ahead 62-57.
“We were just wanting to stay focused with what we were doing,” Jones said. “We wanted to stick with the defense we were in because we felt like Brown was going to give us a mismatch if we matched up with them man because of his size and our big guy, the only one we had left, had four fouls.”
Tashaan Vineyard’s free throw with 7.9 on the clock proved to be Mount View’s final point of the night and PikeView advanced to the sectional championship game, Friday night against Bluefield.
Farley led PikeView and all scorers with 24 points, including five three point baskets. Weitzel added 13.
“Tanner Farley shot the ball really well,” Jones said. “The first part of the game he was just standing around and we took him out and told him he had to step it up and he did.”
Farley talked about his team’s victory.
“It felt good,” Farley commented. “They got us the last two times they played us and it’s hard to beat a team three times in a row.”
Calloway topped the Mount View scoring column with 19, Bonds had 14 and Brown tallied 11.
“I thought we missed crucial free throws and when we had a little cushion, we didn’t get them. When we had to make a couple of plays we didn’t make them,” said Mount View head coach Gary Brown. “That was the difference in the ball game. We played hard enough to win, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way.”

at Princeton Senior High School
MOUNT VIEW (13-8)
Tashaan Vineyard 1 2-5 4, Ishmayle Sawyers 4 0-1 8, William Johnson 0 1-2 1, Jerry Saunders 0 0-0 0, Antoine Calloway 8 2-3 19, Maurice Brown 5 1-5 11, Paco Bonds 6 3-6 15, Totals 24 9-22 58.
PIKEVIEW (7-16)
Austin Hazelwood 0 0-0 0, Seth Wood 4 1-4 9, Bradley Flinchum 1 3-5 5, Austin Cordell 2 1-4 6, Jonathan Burrell 0 0-0 0, Jason Weitzel 4 3-4 13, Tanner Farley 9 1-1 24, Logan McKinney 1 3-6 5, Totals 21 12-24 62.
PikeView.......................9 18 5 16 14 — 62
Mount View.................13 10 15 10 10 — 58
3-point baskets: PV - 7 (Farley 5, Weitzel, Cordell); MV - 1 (Calloway)
Fouled out: PV - McKinney, MV - Saunders. Technical fouls - MV - M. Brown.