CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Another boys basketball season has come and gone, and with it, three new state champions from the previous year, along with a repeat for Tug Valley in Class A.
Putting a bow on the campaign with some final thoughts on the title-winning teams from Charleston:
Class AAAA
In its 12th year as a school, Spring Mills secured its first state championship and had to earn it the hard way in a 41-38 victory over a game George Washington squad that had dethroned three-time defending state champion Morgantown less than 24 hours earlier.
The Cardinals made three fewer field-goal attempts (15) in the season finale than three-pointers from one day earlier in a 41-point semifinal victory against Spring Valley. But as Spring Mills displayed numerous times throughout the season, it was capable of winning games in different fashion, and while the win over the Patriots was far from the team’s cleanest performance, it gave the team its coveted ending after falling just short against the Mohigans in the same spot a year earlier.
This time around, state tournament MVP Caleb Thomas made two late free throws, which combined with a steal from Akwasi Opoku-Achampong, helped allow the Cardinals to prevail.
The 6-foot-7 Thomas finished the state tournament with averages of 17.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, four blocks and four assists. He made 21-of-30 field-goal attempts and 10-of-11 free throws over the three days.
Thomas certainly benefits from playing alongside talented teammates, and as veteran GW head coach Rick Greene noted ahead of the state title game, “They’re the rare high school team that really doesn’t have a weakness.”
The Cardinals turned it over only 24 times throughout the week in Charleston.
Spring Mills finished 24-1 with its lone loss against Morgantown at The Greenbrier — a team the Cardinals had defeated by 17 points a couple weeks earlier.
The Cardinals also posted a 31-point neutral-site victory against Maryland 4A runner-up Walt Whitman (22-5) and an overtime road win at previously unbeaten John Handley, which finished 25-2 and a state semifinalist in Virginia.
The team endured a midseason coaching change when assistant Shannon Layton took over for Luke Samples, who was placed on administrate leave in February.
“These guys almost leave me speechless. They really do,” Layton said. “It’s resilience, toughness. I can go on and on about how we faced so much scrutiny this year. These are the most amazing kids I’ve ever been around.”
Class AAA
Bridgeport’s first basketball championship in 24 years culminated with the team’s 23rd straight victory — a resounding 62-40 win over Nitro in a game the Indians had in hand by halftime
The Tribe’s first title since 2001 and third in program history was earned over the only team it lost to this season.
The second time around, however, Bridgeport imposed its will and made the most of physical play on the interior from Carter Zuliani and his teammates to prevent the Wildcats from ever growing comfortable.
It was another dominant defensive effort for Dave Marshall’s team, which limited opponents to 31 points per game in five playoff contests and allowed 102 over three state tournament victories.
At the state tournament, Bridgeport held opponents to 29.1 percent field-goal shooting (37 for 127) and 13.3 percent three-point shooting, allowing a mere six triples on 45 attempts over three games. Additionally, BHS surrendered a total of 16 assists against Elkins, Fairmont Senior and the Wildcats.
“All my guys are really good athletes, but compared to the athletic basketball player and a kid that can win a 100-yard dash that’s extremely quick, we feel like we have to play defense a certain way,” Marshall said. “We try not to overplay. When we do, it causes problems. We have to play with discipline and they bought into that. If we try to play outside of ourselves, that’s when we get in trouble.”
The Tribe was perhaps more dominant on the glass and finished the season out-rebounding its last two opponents 85-36, including 29-7 on the offensive end.
The team had three different leading scorers in each of the three state tournament contests — Phoenix Sickles, Anderson McDougal and Zuliani — and no Bridgeport player attempted more than 11 shots in any of the games.
“This is an old school, special thing,” Marshall said. “Every coach that really does their job deserves to have a group like this. I have to figure out how to replace them.”
Class AA
Wheeling Central Catholic’s 11th state championship and first in seven years followed a somewhat similar formula to Bridgeport’s in that it came against an opponent it lost to during the regular season in Williamstown, and was on the strength of a dominant defensive showing.
The Maroon Knights had squandered 10-point halftime lead in a 56-55 regular season setback to the Yellowjackets, but this time around, a stellar fourth quarter helped secure the 59-40 victory.
Central (24-2) outscored top seed Williamstown 25-10 over the final 8 minutes. Dominant finishes were a theme in Charleston for the Maroon Knights, which outscored opponents 50-14 in the fourth quarter at the state tournament.
WCCHS made 9-of-12 field-goal attempts and 7-of-8 free throws in the fourth to pull away from Williamstown, with 6-foot-4 junior point guard Eli Sancomb helping his team excel against full court pressure. Sancomb garnered tournament MVP honors after finishing with 72 points, 41 rebounds, 15 assists, eight steals and six blocks over the three games. He made 22-of-40 shots, 7-of-12 threes and all but two of 23 free-throw attempts, while turning it over just seven times.
Drexel felt highly enough of the performances that Sancomb received his first Division I offer Sunday.
Defensively, the Maroon Knights were disruptive throughout, allowing a total of 105 points and no more than 40 in a game at state.
Opponents combined to shoot less than 30 percent (40 for 135) against Central, attempted almost as many threes (66) as shots from inside the arc (69) and scored only seven points on free throws over the three games.
“I like to focus on the defensive end for sure. Even if you’re struggling a little bit on the offensive end, you can still win games,” Central head coach Mel Stephens said. “A lot of times, our defense feeds our offense. We spend 45 to 55 minutes on defensive clips every day in practice. When you have guys like this that can play offense, you can focus a lot on the defensive end and let them take care of the offensive stuff.”
Class A
For the second time in program history, Tug Valley is back-to-back state champion after defeating Tucker County for the second straight season in the title game.
This time around, 17 unanswered points to start the second half paved the way for the Panthers in a 65-45 win that gives the program a fifth state championship.
Efficient offense was a theme throughout the season and week for Tug Valley, which averaged just north of 67 points and shot better than 50 percent (80 for 157) at the state tournament. The Panthers made 20-of-48 triples, totaled 49 assists and turned it over only 20 times over the three games.
“They love each other. They have played tougher since they’ve been knee high,” Panthers’ head coach Garland “Rabbit” Thompson said. “They trust each other, always hang out and they’re best friends. When one of them gets down, the others pick him up.”
Junior point guard Braydun Ferris joined Sancomb as the only player at state to score 20-plus points over three games and led all players at the event with 73 points. He made 29-of-46 field-goal attempts and 5-of-9 threes, dished out 21 assists and came up with eight steals against Montcalm, Greater Beckley Christian and the Mountain Lions.
The 2012 and 2013 state champion Panther teams that today’s players grew up watching and idolizing now have company within the school.
“Going back to back is something that doesn’t happen often,” said junior Bryson Elia, who averaged 10 points and five rebounds on 58 percent shooting at state. “That love is like a brotherhood. You can’t separate us. The trust is there like coach said, and bringing that stuff together is what it takes to be back-to-back state champions. Feeling that taste in our mouth from last year just sparked a fire this year.”
Considering Ferris, Elia and fellow starter Carson Newsome have one more season of eligibility remaining, the Panthers figure to be in the mix again next year.
“We have the ability to get back, but we’re going to celebrate this right now,” Thompson said. “I’m going to take a nap for about a month.”