Parkersburg South senior Taj Joyce won the slam dunk contest, Saturday at the Mountain State Athletic Conference championships. (Photo provided)

George Washington forward and Wright State-commit Noah Lewis wanted to make a statement Saturday evening in the Mountain State Athletic Conference boys final against Parkersburg South.

Lewis accomplished that and more, scoring 33 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and swatting away four shots to lift GW past South, 81-72.

He also shot 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.

The victory avenges a prior loss by George Washington (15-2) against Parkersburg South on Jan. 20 when South beat GW, 60-55, which was GW’s first loss of the season.

“We’ve lost the past two years. So, there was an elephant in the room,” Lewis said. “This is a stage that, at the beginning of the season, we really wanted this game. We wanted to put ourselves in a position to play in this game and be in a position to win.

“Everyone from the first guy to the 15th player on the bench did their job in order to win this game.”

Veteran GW coach Rick Greene said he feels that Lewis made more of a statement outside of what showed up on the stat sheet.

“I think he made the statement that he’s always done, and that is he’s the best player in the state,” Greene said. “You have to compare levels of competition. No disrespect to anybody in A, AA or AAA, none. You gotta be going against the same people. That’s why I think he’s the best.

“I don’t think I’m bias. I think he shows he’s the best,” Greene added.

Parkersburg South got a spark of its own from guard Harry Silvis.

Silvis finished with 28 points, with 17 of those points coming in the second half.

He shot 12 of 22 from the floor, netting three triples in the victory.

“He had struggled the last couple of games,” South Coach Mike Fallon said. “Coach Zac [Grossenbacher] sat down with him on Thursday and talked to him. He got him mentally back into where he needed to be. That was the biggest thing. Physically, he can do whatever.

“He’s as good as anybody, but the mental part, he was struggling with.”

Both sides came out the gates scorching hot, combining for 42 first quarter points.

George Washington’s first quarter lead reached as high as seven points, 20-13, coming with 2:05 remaining after a Lewis bucket.

Yet, South responded by scoring the final nine points of the quarter, with Taj Joyce scoring the final five, including a contested three-pointer as time expired.

Joyce finished with 14 first half points en route to a 27-point performance Saturday evening.

South led 22-20 after one.

George Washington opened the second quarter using an 11-point spurt to retake the lead, which was capped off by an and-one dunk by Lewis, 31-27.

Parkersburg South tried getting back into the game in various ways, but GW shut the door almost every time.

South did get a three from Silvis with 23 seconds left to allow the team to be down five, 42-37, at the half.

Tyler Maddox stepped up in the opening half for George Washington, scoring 12 points. He finished with 19 points.

“He just keeps getting better and better,” Greene said. “He missed five or six games. He’s just starting to come back. He played as well as he’s played. That’s probably his best game. That didn’t surprise me. That’s him. He can do that. We hope he can consistently do that.”

GW, similar to the second quarter, broke open its lead with a long streak of points. This time it came by scoring 12 straight, which was capped, again, by a Lewis and-one.

George Washington continued to cause havoc on both ends of the floor, scoring 21 third quarter points, while forcing South into four turnovers that quarter.

GW led by eight, 63-55, after three quarters.

“We respect them, meaning South,” Greene said. “We know they’re going to hit threes. How are you going to guard Joyce and Silvis? It’s almost impossible because they drive you and body you. They’re going to keep scoring. You just have to say, ‘Let’s get them off the arc.’ Our kids did a great job.”

Fallon felt that the third quarter play, from both teams, was a pivotal quarter in the final outcome of the game.

“We gave up three offensive rebounds that absolutely killed us. That was big,” Fallon said. “This was a tournament-type environment. It was loud. It was kind of a road game for us and everything. I thought we handled everything well.”

A quick spurt of five consecutive points to start the fourth quarter quickly saw South within three, 67-64, with 6:06 left.

However, a Matthew Mullen triple was the beginning of GW’s final nail in the coffin. Mullen’s three started a stretch nine consecutive points, 76-64.

George Washington eventually out-scored Parkersburg South, 18-17, in the final quarter.

GW’s other double-figure scorer with 18 points in the victory, scoring 11 in the first half.