Parkersburg South's Harry Silvis (10) and Taj Joyce look on from the bench during the Patriots' 65-58 loss to Washington in Thursday's Class AAAA state quarterfinals. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

CHARLESTON – After Parkersburg South’s boys basketball team went one-and-done at the Class AAAA state tournament for the second straight season, coach Mike Fallon feels a heavy weight on his shoulder.

Not only does he feel he has let his seniors down, but the Parkersburg South community as well.

Late Thursday night at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center in a Class AAAA state quarterfinal game, fourth-seeded South led fifth-seeded Washington by as many as five points midway in the second quarter before having to play catch-up for the entirety of the second half in a 65-58 defeat.

“We definitely didn’t play our best,” Fallon said after the Patriots concluded the campaign at 18-6. “I feel like the Buffalo Bills of high school basketball. It’s frustrating because it’s like you let the whole community down.

“Every year, it seems like a revolving door for our program. You fight like crazy to get here. People have no clue how hard it is to get here. But then you get here and it’s over like that.”

Parkersburg South’s Harry Silvis defends Washington’s Chet Gore (11) during Thursday’s Class AAAA quarterfinal in Charleston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

South graduates eight seniors, including the school’s all-time leading scorer in Harry Silvis and his running mate Taj Joyce. Despite being in foul trouble for part of the first half, Joyce led South with 17 points, while Silvis added another 16 points even though he didn’t attempt his first shot until seven minutes into the game.

Washington, which meets top-seeded George Washington in Friday’s semifinal round, reeled off 13 straight points in the latter half of the second quarter and never trailed again..

Even though Washington led by as many as 12 points (43-31) late in the third quarter, South continued to fight and closed to within two at 49-47 on a Slvis three with just under five minutes remaining in regulation.

But for every challenge given by South, Washington answered right back – going on an 8-0 late in the fourth period to put South in a hole it could not recover from.

“There’s no doubt we fought – every game, no matter the score, no matter how close or what kind of lead the other team had,” Silvis said. “We always fight. We did that all year. The biggest factor for us has always been control our emotions.

Parkersburg South’s Chase Offenberger, right, and Washington’s Ja’kel Watkins try to storm a loose ball during Thursday’s Class AAAA quarterfinal in Charleston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“We all knew this could be our last game if we don’t win it. So some of us knew when we were down with a few minutes left, there was no doubt we fought. My decision making, I would blame myself for letting us down a little bit for not making shots I should have made. It just happens. Things didn’t go well.”

The first quarter and a half was eerily similar to South’s win over Woodrow Wilson in the regional final. In both instances, Joyce got South going on the scoreboard. Against Washington, he contributed five points as South built a 9-4 lead.

And just as he did against Woodrow Wilson, Joyce picked up his second personal and South went without his services for a quarter and a half.

And just like did against Woodrow Wilson, Silvis energized the offense in the opening minutes of the second quarter against Washington – knocking down a 3-pointer and adding another two-point bucket. Teammate Cam Fallon buried a 3-pointer from the corner and South moved ahead 23-18.

“I talk with my guys in boxing terms a lot and South punched us in the mouth,” Washington coach Ryan Miller said after his ballclub improved to 19-3. “Taj Joyce got going early.But I thought our team responded. We weathered the storm then we settled down.”

Parkersburg South’s Cam Fallon (23) and teammates Landon Willison surround a pair of Washington players, including Tahje Harrison (10), fighting over possession of the ball during Thursday’s Class AAAA quarterfinal in Charleston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Providing the spark for Washington was Avorie Brown, who knocked down the team’s lone 3-pointer which opened the floodgates and anchored the 13-0 run and put Washington in front 30-23 with one minute left before halftime.

Jasiah King capped the run with two of his 16 points. King also had the defensive responsibility of shadowing Silvis’ every move.

“Harry Silvis scores at a Division I level and Taj Joyce is a Division I level athlete – Joyce is so big and so athletic,” Miller said. “Jasiah had a big part of what we did defensively to South tonight. He was on the floor for 32 minutes. He gets a lot of the credit, and deserves every bit of it.”

With nearly a full complement of players at the ready for the start of the second half, South dented the deficit to within 32-31. Then Washington put the ball in the hands of its point guard, Kristopher Doleman, who knocked down four shots during an 11-0 run which left South trailing 43-31 at the three-minute mark of the third quarter.

Doleman, who scored his 1,000 career point during the team’s regional championship game, finished with a game-high 18 points and more impressively grabbed 11 rebounds.

Parkersburg South head coach Mike Fallon, left, and assistant coach Mark Cothern look on prior to the start of Thursday’s Class AAAA quarterfinal matchup with Washington. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Post player Chet Gore accounted for 15 points and 13 rebounds for Washington, which made just one three in 15 attempts.

“We don’t know if we are going to shoot well when you come into this gym – again, we haven’t been down here in 12 years,” Miller said. “None of these kids have played here. The only person in our entire program that’s really played here is me and that was 16 years ago.

“But to not settle the way we did and just continue to stay in attack mode, this guy to my right (Doleman) is a big part of our transition offense.”

Down 49-42, Joyce and Silvis contributed to the next five points of the game. Silvis’ 3-pointer from beyond the college arc narrowed the gap to 49-47 at the 4:47 mark.

King showed off his athleticism on the ensuing 8-0 run for Washington by grabbing a defensive rebound and going coast-to-coast for the and-one.

“In that little spurt right before halftime, we kind of fell into that trap of taking some long shots,” Fallon said.”Then in the fourth quarter we were down 49-47, and we have a ball that goes in and out. We fought, and sometimes it seems like the harder you fight the worse it gets.”

Three of the eight seniors joined the postgame presser – Silvis, Joyce and Fallon. South sorely missed senior post player Matt Mullen, who had knee surgery on the day before the regional championship.

Didn’t help matters when sophomore guard Logan Graham experienced a hard fall to the floor midway into the second quarter, was cleared on his concussion protocol, but coach Fallon said he was not the same Logan Graham he watched throughout the season.

“I’ve been around these seniors since like third and fourth grade,” Fallon said. “They are a part of our family.Most of us all go to church together. It’s a close group.

“This program is special for other reasons. I would love to win a state championship for our community, but I’m not sure I’m the guy who can get them there. There is a lot of doubt, a lot of doubt for me.”