No. 1 Bluefield looks for 3rd title in 5 years out of deep AA field

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. — Bluefield, looking for its third boys basketball title in five seasons, has held down the No. 1 spot out of Class AA in the MetroNews Power Index in every release so far.

The Beavers (14-2) have collected a handful of recent marque wins to only solidify that standing, beating then-overall No. 1 Musselman 76-72 and handing Poca a 72-54 loss on Saturday. The Dots were without  player of the year candidate Luke Frampton in that contest (groin injury), but Bluefield still delivered the business-like 18-point victory.

Those games have been part of an overall schedule that head coach Buster Large believes will have his team battle-tested for the postseason.

“We know the talent that’s out there (in the state),” Large said. “You have to work hard every day in practice to see what we can do to be respectful and have a chance to be competitive in March. I have a very good coaching staff and I’ve been very happy with the accomplishments that we’ve made.”

Those accomplishments include that Class AA No. 1 ranking as the Beavers have lined themselves up for a potential No. 1 or No. 2 seed if they can return to the state tournament.

“We’re very, very proud of what our kids have done,” Large said. “But they know that they have to keep work hard and be focused. Focus is the main thing – we have one of the toughest schedules in the state.

“Our first goal is to win the section, win the regional and get back to Charleston,” he continued. “You can’t look at all of those ratings or polls, you have to do the best job you can and prepare yourself for what’s coming later on in March.”

Bluefield last year was the six seed at the state tournament, falling to eventual champion Fairmont Senior in the quarterfinals, 63-50. Mookie Collier was the leading returner from a year ago after posting 19 points per game as a sophomore.

“He’s an outstanding athlete, an outstanding student athlete,” Large said. “He gets better every day. He had a tremendous fall (earlier in the season) and has been recovering from that.”

One of the other key returning players for the Beavers this year was junior guard Donta Hopkins, who averaged nine points per game a season ago.

Collier scored 21 points back on Saturday in that win over Poca, while Cody Fuller led the way with 23 points for the Beavers. But it’s the defensive effort that Large points to as the biggest key for his team.

“We obviously are a very pressure-type ball club and we love to press,” Large said. “We feel like defense is our trademark.”

Early in the year, the Beavers had to overcome some adversity with a surprising loss to Class A Mount View, 64-53.

“Anybody can be upset at any time and we were,” Large said. “Give credit to Mount View. They beat us that night, but I think we’ve overcome that and we’re just trying to get better.”

Bluefield returned the favor late last month, handing Mount View a 67-52 loss. The only other loss for the Beavers heading into this week came in the middle of January to Shady Spring, 54-49.

The Class AA field overall is deep this year as the Beavers try to find their way back to Charleston. Bluefield is aligned in sectional play with James Monroe, PikeView, River View and Shady Spring. The opposing section in Region 3 features Independence, Liberty Raleigh, Oak Hill, Westside and Wyoming East.

“We feel like our region will be as tough as anybody’s to get out of,” Large said. “We knew coming into this year that (Class AA) would be extremely tough. There is a lot of talent in Class AA and I really feel like it’s going to be a very, very good road down the stretch.”