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All 5 PBHS starters named to All-State list

PHILIPPI — After a school-best season record of 22-4 en route to a state tournament berth, the Class AA No. 4 Philip Barbour Colts topped off the 2016-17 prep season by seeing all five starting players be named to the All-State team.

Senior Austin Upton drew First Team honors after racking up a team-leading 466 points for the high-powered PB offense that averaged 81 points per game, went past the century mark twice, and featured all five starters averaging double-figures in scoring.

Upton shot 52 percent from the floor, handed out 112 assists and knocked down a 71 percent mark at the free throw line. He averaged 18 points per contest.

Having all five starters land on the All-State list is a first at PBHS.

“It’s not to take anything away from other teams, but this is by far the best team I have had,” veteran PB coach Marcus Johnson said. “They are one through five the best, and the record shows it. The future is bright with three returners, and other players ready to step up.

“This year’s team has set a standard. We had seven in the weight room on Monday, a lot of them underclassmen. They are wanting to get better as a result of the example we had this year,” he said.

Representing Philip Barbour on the Third Team are senior Spencer Hudkins and junior David Shriver. Hudkins and Shriver highlighted a home win in front of a packed Colts’ Corral late in the season while hosting Big 10 rival Grafton.

Over the course of an 89-75 dispatching of the Bearcats, Hudkins went past the 1,000 career-points scored mark, and Shriver broke the school single-season record for three-pointers made.

Hudkins dropped in 380 points as a senior, and shot 66 percent from the foul line, while averaging 15 points per game and dishing out 112 passes for points.

Shriver torched the nets from behind the arc with 92 three-pointers, shot 76 percent from the charity stripe,and led the team in blocked shots with 18, all while averaging 16.5 points per game.

Down in the paint shop for Philip Barbour, two starting juniors earned honorable mention recognition.

Cole Whited and Noah Price put in hard work around the glass this season. Price put in 336 points to average 13 per game, grabbed 6 boards a contest, and was a 63 percent shooter at the line.

Whited averaged a double-double for PBHS along the way. He nabbed 11 points and 10 rebounds on average for the Colts. He was a solid 60 percent from field goal range.

“They’ve won a lot of games from early on in youth and summer leagues,” Johnson said. “The majority of their success is a common goal to just put winning first. When you put the personal to the side and put winning ahead while sharing the ball, good things happen.”

Other local standouts also making the cut on the honorable mention list are Dalton Hamrick for Elkins, Nate Frazier for Lewis County and Petersburg’s Cody Southerly and Mark Burkhalter.

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