Williamstown’s Louis Goodlow (0) goes up for a shot as Trinity Christian’s Ben Lohmann (1) and Chayce Adams (12) defends during the West Virginia boys AA quarterfinal game at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center on Wednesday in Charleston. (Marcus Constantino / Courtesy Mister Bee Potato Chips)

CHARLESTON — Whether it’s superstition or a feeling of reassurance, Parker Schramm doesn’t like to end pregame warmups without a 3-point make.

Wednesday evening in a West Virginia High School Boys Class AA state quarterfinal matchup with the eighth-seeded Trinity Christian Wildcats, the top-seeded and unbeaten Yellowjackets advanced to the semifinal round with an 81-40 victory. The Yellowjackets combined to make a Class AA state record tournament record 11 threes.

Williamstown (25-0), which reeled off the game’s first 11 points just 2 ¢ minutes into the first quarter and led by as many as 25 points in the first half, meets the winner of No. 4 Charleston Catholic and No. 5 South Harrison at 11:15 a.m. on Friday.

“We got off to a really good start today,” Williamstown coach Scott Sauro said. “To be honest, it was a little bit of a concern today for us as a coaching staff because we didn’t make it down here to state last year, and we didn’t have a lot of guys with state tournament experience other than Alex Irvin and Kent Wigal who both played in the state championship game a couple of years ago.

“To get off to a pretty good start helped calm the nerves for our guys. We got a lead early and kids could relax a little bit, and settle in.”

Schramm was responsible for what matched a Class AA state record by one individual six 3-pointers and scored a game-high 26 points in a mere 16 minutes of court time. Carson Hill followed with nine points off the bench, while Alex Irvin and Gavin Lemley each pitched in eight points.

“I always end with a make on my warmups so I have that in my head going into the game,” said Schramm, who missed several 3-point attempts during pregame before sinking one just prior to the buzzer sounding to indicate the start of player introductions.

During Williamstown’s regional co-final win over St. Marys, Schramm and Irvin – the Yellowjackets’ top two scorers entering the state tournament – combined for just seven points.

Coach Sauro is confident about his arsenal of scorers contributing on any given night. Since the first official day of practice, they have worked the shooting machine (referred to as ‘the gun ‘) for 53,000 shots.

The odometer reading on the machine is proof.

“These guys are relentless workers,” Sauro said. “They have kind of earned the right to have confidence as shooters.”

Also receiving his share of kudos from his head coach was Williamstown point guard Cruz Isaly, who is considered the head of the Yellowjackets’ snake. The sophomore did not score against the Wildcats, but produced in so many other ways after finishing with nine assists, five rebounds and four steals.

“There was an opposing coach earlier this season – he wouldn’t talk about our team, all he said was the Isaly kid,” Sauro said. “That coach said Isaly is the head of the snake, isn’t he? And I said, he kind of is. Cruz gets us into our tempo. He is very, very good in pressure.”

“He can score a little bit, but he doesn’t care if he does. And that’s what a good point guard should do. He should create tempo on offense and be very effective defenders. And Cruz can do that.”

Williamstown’s patented full-court pressure resulted in 24 Trinity Christian turnovers, with the Yellowjackets scoring 30 points off those miscues.

“Obviously, Williamstown is a very long and lengthy team,” Trinity Christian senior Levi Teets said. “Most of our guards are small, so it is a lot more difficult against their press. We just needed to be more patient and use our teammates better.

“The key is to get everybody involved and keep moving the ball. If you are moving the ball, their length has no effect. If you hold it, they can trap you and that’s when you really get into trouble.”

Carter Hartsock led the Wildcats (14-12) with 14 points, while Chayce Adams added 12 points under first-year coach Codey Horton.

“We knew we had a tough matchup with undefeated Williamstown, who we saw earlier this year,” Horton said. “We knew what we were getting ourselves into, and they came to play. They were hitting all of their shots and we could not take care of the ball.”

Trailing 36-11, Trinity Christian doubled up Williamstown 14-7 over the final four minutes of the first half. The third quarter resembled the first quarter as the Yellowjackets outscored the Wildcats 20-4 before Will Hancox closed out the period with a 3-pointer with Williamstown comfortably in front 60-29.

Schramm opened the scoring nine seconds into the fourth quarter with his sixth and final 3-pointer. At the next break, the sophomore and several other Williamstown starters took a permanent seat on the bench.

Dylan Ashley checked in with Williamstown’s 11th and final 3-pointer with 1:17 remaining in regulation.

“No matter who we play on Friday is going to be a terrific opponent,” Sauro said. “We have already played South Harrison and they have a terrific team. And Charleston Catholic, we’ve seen from afar and we know what they’ve done this year.

“We know it’s going to be a battle with whoever we play.”

Of the 14 players who checked in at the scorer’s table for Williamstown, 11 played contributed significant minutes. The Yellowjackets’ depth creates a healthy competition in daily practices, and gives Williamstown a decisive edge while wearing down opponents who go only two to three deep off its bench.

With a possible two games over a two-day span, Williamstown should have plenty of fresh legs.

“Practices are always super competitive – we go 5-on-5, best-on-best,” Irvin said. “Not a lot of teams around the state can do that. Our practices always have great energy. Like coach says, a quiet gym is a losing gym.

“It felt good being out there again tonight. We were obviously disappointed not making it last year. We were upset, but we knew this year we were going to be good. We just use it as fuel. We’re here, but we are not done yet.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com