CHARLESTON, W.Va. — No matter how impressive Spring Mills had been one day earlier in a resounding semifinal win over Spring Valley, head coach Shannon Layton was sure to remind the No. 1 Cardinals of what was in store Saturday against No. 3 George Washington.
“I told these kids it’s not going to be a runaway game in the championship,” Layton said.
The matchup could hardly have been tighter.
Caleb Thomas made two free throws with 11 seconds remaining, and Akwasi Opoku-Achampong came up with a steal on the Patriots’ ensuing possession, allowing Spring Mills to prevail with a 41-38 victory in a game it trailed for only 25 seconds of but never led by double figures.
“These guys are so poised and we knocked down free throws that were huge,” said Layton, who became interim head coach near the midway point of the regular season. “Caleb stays the same no matter what’s going on. In moments like this, that’s where it was blatantly obvious.”
Thomas also came up with two blocks down the stretch while the Cardinals led 38-35. He rebounded the latter and it led to Chayse Shipley making the second of two free throws for a four-point advantage, though Gale Lamb answered with a three-pointer off the wing to pull the No. 3 Patriots to within one with 14 seconds remaining.
“I had let them score previously for it to be a three-point game. I knew I had to lock down and couldn’t let them score,” Thomas said. “Free throws cost us last year and I had to knock them down.”
SMHS (24-1) began the fourth quarter with a 32-26 lead and gained its largest advantage at 36-27 on two free throws from Opoku-Achampong, who was held in check and scored six points on 2-for-8 shooting after knocking down eight threes in the semifinal round and 12 over the first two state tournament contests.
“We had some wrinkles on their handoffs and things like that, but played the way we play. Defense has been our staple,” GW head coach Rick Greene said. “We were not going back down. Didn’t care how physical it got or how much foul trouble we got into. We were not going to back down. We had too many unforced turnovers and missed some shots, but that’s all part of the game.”
GW (21-5) wouldn’t go away quietly and continued to display the resiliency that helped it knock off three-time defending state champion Morgantown by two points one night earlier.
Noah Lewis and Chuck Kelley combined for the next six Patriot points, and two free throws from Kelley with 3 minutes remaining cut the Cardinal lead to 38-33.
Lewis, a 6-foot-7 junior, was whistled for his fifth personal foul with 2:11 to play, but the Patriots continued to battle back and got a Dominic Sprouse jumper to pull to within three, helping to set the stage for the tight finish.
“We played the way we play. They’re good defensively, so you’re not going to get a quick shot,” Greene said. “We played the way we play and if it shortens the game, good. I believe in our group so much and we wanted them to come and beat us.“
GW’s only lead was at 8-7, and baskets from Max Anderson and Thomas over the final 43 seconds of the opening quarter allows Spring Mills to lead by thee. That duo combined for all 11 Cardinal points in the opening period.
Anderson knocked down a three-pointer to start the second-quarter scoring, and the Cardinals entered halftime with a 20-15 lead in large part due to his seven points on 3-for-3 shooting through two quarters.
“Got a couple points crashing the boards and on easy putbacks,” Anderson said. “When they left me open, I shot it with confidence. Coach Layton says it can be anybody’s night and tonight it happened to be my night.”
The Cardinals led by seven on two occasions in the third, while the Patriots got as close as three at 27-24 on a Kelley jumper. Ultimately, Spring Mills settled for a 32-26 lead through three after a Shipley jumper late in that period made it a six-point margin.
“We felt we should’ve won last year. We didn’t, but we worked all year and fought through adversity to come out champions,” Thomas said.
Thomas finished with 15 points and made 5-of-9 shots and all five of his free throws. He added seven rebounds and six blocked shots. Anderson scored nine without missing a shot.
One year after falling short at the buzzer against the Mohigans in the state title game, the Cardinals broke through.
“These guys earned this spot and being the No. 1 team in West Virginia,” Layton said. “I’m extremely proud of them. No one got shook. These guys were so calm in the huddle which made me look like OK, we’re going to do this and no matter what comes, we’re going to finish this deal.”
Lewis led the Patriots with 11 points, five boards and four blocks. Kelley and Sprouse scored nine apiece.
“I’m really proud of them. It was a championship game. We made some mistakes. We made some good plays,” Greene said. “They made one more play and one more bucket. I would much rather go home with these kids than anybody else and I’ll take a runner-up trophy with these kids than a championship with anybody else. It’s really been a privilege. At this point in my career, I’m closer to the end than the beginning. It’s refreshing to know there are kids like this.”