Chapmanville dethrones Fairmont Sr. for first Class AA basketball title

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Chapmanville Regional won the school’s first boys basketball state championship on Saturday, beating two-time defending champ Fairmont Senior 69-60 in a battle of the season’s premier Class AA programs.

“They’ve put in an incredible amount of work over the past year and I’m just so proud of them,” said Chapmanville coach Brad Napier. “They stuck together and executed today.

“They did exactly what we asked them to do,” he continued. “They’re such great teammates and great kids on and off the floor. I’m just very fortunate to be a part of this.”

The two teams entered Saturday with a combined 51-1 record. Fairmont Senior, the top seed, finished just behind Chapmanville in the final edition of the MetroNews Power Index.

Chapmanville last year, on the same stage, saw a 10-point second half lead slip away as the Tigers eventually fell by five.

“Last year after we lost, that hurt us so bad,” said Chapmanville standout Drew Williamson. “Everyone was in the gym as soon as the game ended. I was in the gym the next day with my dad. He was pushing me to get better. We all worked our butts off. We set the goal to win it this year and that’s exactly what we did.”

This year, the Tigers (27-1) took a 52-40 lead into the fourth quarter and didn’t let up, holding off the Polar Bears after they closed to within six, 66-60, and 33 seconds to go.

“The difference today was that we had a bunch of players step up,” Williamson said. “We had a deeper bench than we did last year. They all stepped up and I just can’t thank them enough for it.

“Fairmont is just a great team and they were probably the better team coming into the state tournament,” he continued. “We just out-grinded them I thought.”

Williamson had the spotlight throughout the tournament, following his 33-point effort in the semifinal win Friday with 28 points on 12 of 17 shooting Saturday.

“We asked Drew Friday to carry us when we were struggling,” Napier said. “He did that. Today we didn’t really ask him to do that. He did a little bit at times, but it was a total team effort. Our guys were phenomenal I thought on defense. We outrebounded them and I guarantee they haven’t been outrebounded probably in two years.”

Chapmanville did win that rebounding battle 33-27 and held Fairmont Senior to just 41 percent shooting.

Obinna Anochili-Killen also finished in double figures for the Tigers, adding 16 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Sophomore Philip Mullins, though, hit six pressure free throws in the game’s closing minutes as the Polar Bears were trying to make their comeback.

“I’m lost for words,” Mullins said. “It’s amazing. All the haters and everyone doubting you – we were able to prove them wrong. Every possession had to count – we had to play hard on every play. It was a war.”

Fairmont Senior (25-1) was led by Zyon Dobbs and Jalen Bridges who both totaled 16 points apiece, while Taevon Horton added 14 points.

It’s a fitting ending for the senior group of Chapmanville starters who came to the state tournament two years ago as the No. 8 seed and fell just short up upsetting No. 1 Poca that year in the quarterfinals.

Two years later, they’re now at the top of Class AA basketball in the state.

“Those seniors are our rock – they’re our leadership and they have been for the three years I’ve been coaching at Chapmanville. They work extremely hard, they fight and they hate to lose. They’re win at all cost type of guys.”

POSTGAME: