Playing on back-to-back nights, Huntington trailed in the first quarter for the second straight night. Spring Valley came out of the tip with as much or more intensity as St. Albans the night before and led 17-16 as late as the 1:10 mark of the first quarter.

But O.J. Mayo made the first 3-pointer of his game-high 34 points to give Huntington a 19-17 lead and the Highlanders never trailed again. Burns made a 3-pointer at the first quarter buzzer that made the score 21-20 in favor of Huntington, but the Highlanders opened the second quarter with a 9-0 run.

“It makes it fun,” Mayo said of the intensity the Timberwolves came out with. “They are a good team and came out scrappy with a lot of intensity.”

Top-ranked Huntington wooed the crowd with an array of impressive dunks, blocked shots and long three-pointers in improving to 3-0 on the season.

O.J. Mayo led the Highlanders’ impressive show with 30 points, while fellow seniors Jamal Williams and Patrick Patterson added 24 points and 18 points, respectively.

Mayo, who didn’t start and went scoreless in the first quarter, erupted for 17 points in the second quarter, while Williams carried the load in the third quarter, with 11 more points.

One of the best dunk clips of #32 O.J. Mayo and #54 Patrick Patterson during the first Huntington High School home basketball game of 2006-2007.

A first hand account of OJ Mayo in his game today against Ripley:

I just got home from the Huntington high game. They annihilated Ripley high school 105-62. It would have been much worse had they not taken OJ and Patterson out for the fourth quarter. OJ had 34 and a myriad of spectacular dunks including an amazing one in which he alley ooped himself off the backboard (TMAC style). He is for real and will make an awesome pro.

The small gym was packed early and the noise level was earsplitting Tuesday night for a high school season opener perhaps like few others ever in West Virginia - prep star O.J. Mayo’s debut at Huntington High.

Mayo, ranked by several prep publications as the nation’s top senior, turned two-time defending Class AAA state champion Huntington into an instant national contender when he transferred to his hometown in September from Cincinnati North College Hill, where he twice was named The Associated Press Mr. Basketball for Ohio.

He may have changed teams, but his game remains the same.

The 6-foot-5 guard hit a 3-pointer from the corner seven seconds into Huntington’s season opener with Nitro High at the University of Charleston’s gym and the onslaught never stopped.

“It was a whole lot of fun,” Mayo said.

In a span of a little over a minute, he dunked, sank a 3-pointer and scored on a finger roll in the lane. He finished with 31 points and had nine assists in the Highlanders’ 94-46 win.

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