CHARLESTON, W.Va. — No. 1 Bluefield held Robert C. Byrd without a field goal for more than eight minutes, sparking a fourth-quarter surge that carried the Beavers to a 54-48 win in the Class AA semifinals.
“What a great high school basketball game. It could have went either way,” said Bluefield coach Charles Large, whose squad advanced to the state title game for the second straight year. “We were fortunate to get enough breathing room, and hit enough free throws to come out with the win.”
The Beavers (24-3) trailed 41-38 with 1:38 left in the third quarter before going on a 12-0 run in which they held RCB (20-7) without a field goal until Devonti Birch’s 3-pointer with 1:26 left in the game. The Flying Eagles cut the lead to three with 22 seconds left, but Lykel Collier converted 3-of-4 free throws to seal it for Bluefield.
“I didn’t want to lose in the semifinals for my team or the community,” said Collier, who scored all 10 of his points in the second half. “I just stepped up and hit the shots.”
With 2:35 left and RCB trailing 46-41, Flying Eagles guard Iziah Hill missed a breakaway layup. The Beavers rebounded and converted on a layup by Anthony Eades pushing the lead to seven. On Bluefield’s next possession, Hill was called for goaltending on a shot that hung on the rim.
“I told the kids that there were going to be stretches in the game where things weren’t going to go our way,” Robert C. Byrd coach Bill Bennett said. “But I thought we did a great job of fighting back, and we gave ourselves a chance in the end.”
Bluefield was led by Anthony Eades’ 15 points. D.J. Edwards scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Micheal Yost produced 10 points. The Beavers forced 16 turnovers while only committing six.
RCB’s Birch led all scorers with 18 points and 11 rebounds, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Nick Dyer added 14 in the loss.