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Philip Barbour’s Austin Upton commits to ABU

The Inter-Mountain file photo by Tony Baisi Austin Upton led the Philip Barbour Colts in scoring in the 2016-17 season.

The Inter-Mountain file photo by Tony Baisi Austin Upton led the Philip Barbour Colts in scoring in the 2016-17 season.

PHILIPPI — Recent Philip Barbour graduate Austin Upton made his final decision about where to go to college after commencement was in the books at the Colts’ Corral.

Upon has committed to the Alderson Broaddus University’s mens basketball program, headquartered at Battle Hill in Philippi.

Upton helped lead PBHS to the best season record (24-4) in school history during his senior campaign, a slate that included an earned invite to the Class AA state tournament in Charleston. He led the team in scoring with 466 points on the year.

“It meant a lot to me for our team to have success during my senior year,” Upton said. “It was perfect, except for our last game, of course. It was a great season with a lot of great teammates.”

At the foul line, Upton made a favorable 72 percent of shots. While averaging more than 18 points per game, he found time to take the ball away from opponents with 29 steals, and was unselfish by dishing out a team-leading 115 assists to the rest of the cast that filled out the gym-packing roster for Philip Barbour High School in 2016-17.

“We don’t get a lot of attention in Barbour County sometimes, but it was my goal to try and help put PB basketball back on the map again,” he said. “It was a good feeling to represent my town and county.”

Veteran PBHS head coach Marcus Johnson has just over a decade’s experience at the helm, having now led three different Colts’ squads to the AA playoffs scene.

“I think Austin has a great opportunity ahead of him,” Johnson said. “He’s a hard worker, he’s 6-foot 2 and left-handed. He has a chance to extend his playing career if he chooses to.”

Upton left high school with a 3.2 GPA, and said he plans to major in sports management at ABU. He also noted he is very familiar with AB’s campus, and has known ABU alumnus and head coach Greg Zimmerman since 2006, when he attended summer camp for the first time.

Zimmerman’s teams have continued to be very competitive at Rex Pyles Arena and beyond. Even after the dismantling and separating decisions that split the WVIAC, making that conference defunct, the ABU Battlers have forged ahead as contenders in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.

“I’m born and raised here, and have had some other good offers,” Upton said. “AB is the best fit, it’s close to home, and hopefully I get to play more ball in front of my family and friends.”

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