The teams will now meet for the Class A state championship at 5 p.m. today in hoops as the result of Friday’s semifinal action.

The top-seeded Mountain Lions (22-3) cruised past No. 4 Webster County, 70-41, in the afternoon session, while the second-seeded Panthers (21-6) pulled away from East Hardy, 52-39, in the evening.

Tucker County eliminated Tug Valley in last year’s semifinals in basketball and the Mountain Lion football squad claimed a 42-0 win over the Panthers in the fall in state quarterfinal action.

Several participants in that football game also play basketball, including quarterback Ethan Rosenau, who scored 18 points in Friday’s win over the Highlanders, and Owen Knotts, who tallied 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Tucker County’s Garrett Wilfong (32) guards Webster County’s Rayden Triplett Friday afternoon in Class A semifinal action.

Trevan Bonner tossed in a game-high 23 points to pace Tucker County, which led 35-19 at halftime, while Ashton Lycliter grabbed 17 rebounds.

Rayden Triplett, the hero of Wednesday night’s win over defending state champions James Monroe in the quarterfinals, led Webster County with 19 points. Logan Leichliter chipped in 10.

The Mountain Lions dominated inside, holding a 45-29 rebounding advantage and outscoring the Highlanders, 38-6, in the paint.

“We have great size and a lot of athletic kids who play other sports,” said Tucker County coach Daniel Helmick, whose team defeated Tug Valley, 56-50, at home back in February. “We wanted to get the ball inside (against Webster) and outrebound them and we did.

“This is just a great bunch of kids to coach. They put the work in during the offseason to get better, and we are excited to have another opportunity to bring a state title to Tucker County.”

Photo courtesy of West Virginia Press Association Tucker County’s Owen Knotts (14) readies a shot against Webster County during Class A semifinal action Friday at the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center. The Mountain Lions face Tug Valley at 5 p.m. today in the title game.

The Highlanders finished with a 22-5 record under head coach Michael Gray.

Ashton Davis led Tug Valley in its win over the Cougars with 20 points. Buddy Marcum, an all-state linebacker, added 12 rebounds.

The Panthers held a 38-35 lead after three quarters before outscoring East Hardy, 14-4, in the final frame.

J.W. Teets tossed in 17 points for the Cougars, who ended the season with a 20-4 mark.

Webster County (22-5)

Rayden Triplett 7 1-2 19, Logan Leichliter 4 0-0 10, Zach McCourt 2 3-4 8, Riley Clevenger 1 2-5 4. Totals 14 6-11 41

Tucker County (23-3)

Trevan Bonner 10 2-3 23, Owen Knotts 4 3-6 12, Maddox Anderson 0 2-2 2, Ethan Rosenau 6 2-2 18, Ashton Lycliter 2 0-2 4, Mikey Mitchell 1 0-0 3, Xander Lambert 1 0-0 2, Garrett Wilfong 2 0-0 4, Cole Carr 1 0-0 2. Totals 27 9-15 70

Webster County 12 7 11 11 — 41

Tucker County 17 18 18 17 — 70

3-point goals: Webster County 7 (Triplett 4, Liechliter 2 and McCourt), Tucker County 7 (Rosenau 4, Bonner, Knotts and Mitchell)