CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Tug Valley has defeated Tucker County in each of the last two Class A state title games.
By assuring themselves of a third consecutive appearance in the final, the Panthers prevented the Mountain Lions from having the same opportunity.
Braydun Ferris scored 26 points to reach 2,000 for his career and No. 2 Tug Valley gradually increased its lead to get past the Mountain Lions 56-43 in a semifinal at the Charleston Coliseum.
“Our senior class is 9-1 state tournament games. These are nut-cutting games, white knuckle battles and fights,” Panthers’ coach Garland “Rabbit” Thompson said. “These are tough ones, so I’m very proud of them.”
Ferris scored six straight points early to help stake the Panthers (20-5) to a 10-2 lead, before the sixth-seeded Mountain Lions (17-9) settled in and cut the deficit to 15-14 after one quarter when Mikey Mitchell scored the final bucket of the opening frame.
“We tell our kids it’s going to be crazy early, but keep plugging and it’ll turn into a basketball game,” Mountain Lions’ coach Daniel Helmick said.
Cayden Arnold’s follow-up basket 2:11 into the second quarter enabled TCHS to lead 18-17, but that proved to be the Mountain Lions’ lone advantage.
MetroNews broadcast interview with Tug Valley’s Garland “Rabbit” Thompson following their 56-43 win over Tucker County in the Class A semifinals: #wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/PMKzcfjNID
— Joe Brocato (@joebrowvm) March 19, 2026
The Panthers then picked up the pace and beginning with Cameron Slone’s pull-up jumper 3:04 before halftime, TVHS outscored Tucker 10-2 over the remainder of the first half.
Ferris’ driving layup and a Zade Rash three-pointer just before time expired enabled Thompson’s team to lead 27-20 at halftime.
“We’re very unselfish, and when you hit the open man and take care of the basketball, that leads to good possessions and that kind of makes up for the rebounding that we tend to get hammered on,” Thompson said.
The Mountain Lions were 8 for 27 from the field at the break, but had seven of 10 offensive rebounds between the two teams and a slight 18-15 edge on the boards.
Tucker got as close as six on four separate occasions in the third quarter, the last of which was 35-29 when Carson Dearborn scored from close range at the 3:37 mark.
The Panthers followed with nine unanswered points to in essence put the game out of reach.
Ferris began that spurt by making 3-of-4 free throws, while Carson Newsome scored from close range once and Zade Rash twice, the latter of which made it 44-29 with 1:36 to play in the third.
“It’s pick your poison, because if you help, he’s going to find the right guy,” Helmick said of Feris. “He makes the right basketball play and he’s a heck of a player.”
Tug Valley settled for a 46-34 lead after three and the Mountain Lions never got the deficit inside a dozen over the final period, which included Ferris making a free throw with 54 seconds left for his 2,000th career point.
Ferris shot 7 for 15 and made 11 of 15 free throws. He added a team-best seven rebounds and four assists and drew eight Tucker fouls.
“If we play our game, nobody can stop us and we just have to stay confident with that,” Ferris said.
Newsome and Rash scored nine apiece.
The Panthers had only five turnovers, including one in the second half.
“They know what they’re doing,” Thompson said. “I could put anybody in this room right here to sit in that third seat and they’d be successful. They’re very smart, have a high IQ and a tremendous will to win. My part is to stay out of the way and don’t be stupid.”
Arnold scored a team-high 17 for Tucker and Ethan Cummings and Samuel Marks followed with nine and eight points, respectively.
Arnold and Xander Lambert led the Mountain Lions with seven boards apiece.
Tucker shot 16 for 51 and 3 of 19 from three-point range.
“We couldn’t get a shot to fall. Some of that was on us and a lot of that was on Tug,” Helmick said. “They make it tough to run anything.”
The Panthers seek a sixth state championship Saturday against the winner of Greater Beckley Christian-East Hardy.