CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Brad Napier wanted nothing more than for his Chapmanville team to have an opportunity to play for a state championship Saturday.
The Tigers will do exactly that after securing their spot in a state final with Friday’s 72-47 win against Winfield.
It was a workmanlike effort that pleased Napier, though down the line the Chapmanville coach will almost certainly remember the game for more than its result.
“To go through what they’ve been through this year as a team, school and community, their coaches and kids have done a phenomenal job making this run that they did,” Napier said of Winfield. “You want to win a game, but you don’t want to see other teams go through what they went through either, so it was a tough one for me.”
What Napier is referencing, of course, in an ongoing battle for Generals’ junior Ty Laughery with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Laughery was present for and played in Winfield’s quarterfinal round win against Ripley late Wednesday, flew Thursday morning to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for chemotherapy, and was back with his teammates for the semifinal.
MetroNews broadcast interview with Chapmanville’s Brad Napier after their 72-47 win over Winfield in the Class AAA semifinals: #wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/5oYS7Smyad
— Joe Brocato (@joebrowvm) March 20, 2026
Laughery was inserted into the contest with 2:28 remaining in the fourth quarter in a moment as memorable as any at the state tournament.
“Probably the moment,” Napier said when asked what he’ll likely most remember from Friday in the future. “The results aren’t as important as the experience when you get older.“
Grateful for the lifetime memory, Laughery indicated he’s making progress.
“We just did the halfway mark [of chemotherapy] yesterday. It’s all been going really well,” Laughery said. “Before yesterday, we got some good news from a scan that the swelling is definitely going down.”
It was an emotional ending to an emotional season for No. 4 Winfield (22-4).
“I wish we had him one more day on the basketball court right now,” Generals’ coach Travis Tarr said. “He’s missed so much. He deserved one more day.”
Winfield had the contest where it wanted through one quarter, which ended with the teams tied at 11.
The Tigers (22-3) started to gain separation in the second quarter, with Keaton Terry asserting himself inside and scoring six points in the period, while teammate Dakota Dalton hit his second three-pointer of the half.
On the other end, the Tigers clamped down on Winfield and forced the Generals into 3-for-15 shooting in the period, allowing Napier’s team to lead 27-19 at halftime.
“These guys did a great job today defensively,” Napier said. “I wasn’t real pleased with our defensive effort in the first round [a 75-68 win against Robert C. Byrd], but today, we were pretty spot on defensively. They did a good job of making their shooters take tough shots.”
Any thought of a Winfield rally was in essence put to rest in the third as the Tigers dazzled offensively, shooting 7 for 13 in a 26-point period.
Dalton hit two more threes in the quarter and scored six points in the frame, as did Terry and fellow teammate Kai Martin.
“Three or four of us shot really well, but we were more worried today about playing defense and shutting them down,” Dalton said.
Although Winfield picked up its offensive play and produced nearly half of its point total in the third, the Generals couldn’t cut into their deficit due to an inability to generate stops and trailed 53-40 after three frames.
“I don’t want to say we came out a little soft, but we came out a little soft in the third quarter,” Tarr said. “We were not supposed to be going under screens and we came out and went under two and Dalton hit two big ones.”
Chapmanville’s defense was again dominant throughout the fourth as the Tigers held WHS to 3-for-14 shooting and continued to increase their advantage.
Jay Brock scored 12 of his team-high 19 points in the second half and matched Dalton with four triples.
“I’m not worried about our shooting. I’m worried about our defense,” Napier said. “I told our assistant coaches before the game we were going to make 10 threes today. We made nine, so I was close.”
Terry scored 17 points to go with 10 rebounds, while Martin had 15 points and seven boards off the bench.
“We have seven guys we consider starters and we just kind of rotate them,” Napier said. “Sometimes the guy who doesn’t start plays the most minutes.”
The Tigers take on the winner of North Marion-Bridgeport in the title game.
Owen Taylor led Winfield with 16 points and Brody Ilderton had 12 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
“These guys battled to the point of exhaustion,” Tarr said. “As a coach, that’s all you ever ask for. Show up, don’t make excuses, trust the work and be proud of what you do. That’s what we are right now.”