CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It didn’t come easily for Tug Valley.
It doesn’t lessen the accomplishment any.
The Class A No. 2 Panthers overcame a slow start with a strong finish, outscoring top seed Greater Beckley Christian by seven points in the fourth quarter to claim a 64-54 victory in the Class A title game and the program’s third straight state championship.
The result inside the Charleston Coliseum is the seventh instance of a West Virginia school winning at least three consecutive state championships.
“I fussed at them a little bit early in the fourth quarter because I felt our energy level was a little bit low,” Panthers’ coach Garland “Rabbit” Thompson said. “We had to fight through Ritchie County and Tucker County and maybe we were a little slow, but our kids know how to win.”
Tug Valley (21-5) led 40-37 through three quarters, and the Crusaders (22-3) pulled even 42 seconds into the period on an Eli Gunter three-pointer.
The contest was tied at 44 when senior standout Braydun Ferris made a triple with 6:11 remaining that proved to put the Panthers ahead for good. A triple from Zade Rash 1:07 later doubled the advantage.
“Coach always says the next shot is going to fall,” Ferris said. “Zade had missed a few, but he hit one of the biggest shots of the game. We had some momentum after I hit that shot and it helped.”
GBC was forced to play catchup the rest of the way, and the Panthers gained their first double-digit lead of the outing at 56-46 when Cameron Slone scored from close range with 3:10 left.
Tug Valley maintained its separation by making 8-of-12 free throws the rest of the way, capping a dominant final frame in which the Panthers were 6 of 9 from the field and 10 of 14 from the charity stripe.
Crusaders’ coach Justin Arvon felt his team lacked energy down the stretch after hard-fought quarterfinal and semifinal round victories against Webster County and East Hardy, respectively
“It was pretty evident that our legs probably weren’t there the last 4 minutes of the game,” Arvon said. “We tried to get the ball into spaces and guys’ hands where we wanted the basketball and shots didn’t fall where they had been earlier.
“If I were to do it again, we’d have the ball moving more in the fourth quarter.”
Ferris, a key piece of all three state championship teams, saved his best for last with 13 of his game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter. He made 6-of-6 free throws in that period and 9 of 11 for the contest.
Greater Beckley could hardly have scripted a better start and was in front 10-2 halfway through the first quarter.
MetroNews broadcast interview with Tug Valley’s Class A state champion head coach Garland “Rabbit” Thompson: #wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/V2Z3YvSX4D
— MetroNews Sports (@MetroNewsSports) March 21, 2026
“More pressure was on them. We took advantage of that in the beginning,” Gunter said. “They just responded well like they always do. You saw the other game against Ritchie [when Tug Valley trailed 17-5 after one quarter]. They’re really well-coached.”
The Panthers settled in and got consecutive buckets from Carson Newsome to help cut their deficit to 13-11 after one quarter.
“They came out hard. They wanted to win a state championship, too,” Thompson said. “But the longer the game went, thankfully the better we got. We were a little bit sluggish up until about the third quarter.”
Tug Valley had the upper hand for the majority of the second period and led 25-20 when Newsome made two free throws 2:21 before halftime.
That was still the score in the final seconds, but GBC got a driving layup from Javonte Spencer with 5 seconds remaining. Spencer then stole the ensuing Panther inbound pass, scored again from close range and was fouled, leading to a conventional three-point play that sent the matchup to halftime knotted at 25.
Ferris and Newsome each accounted for two baskets in the third quarter and the Panthers gained a three-point lead with 8 minutes remaining, before finishing it off in style.
Ferris’ 30 points gave him 86 over the three state tournament victories.
“Braydun is the best basketball player I’ve ever coached,” Thompson said. “I try not to slight anybody, but I truly mean that.”
Newsome was the team’s second-leading scorer with 12, while Slone scored nine.
“You work your whole life for this moment. To get a three-peat is just unreal,” Newsome said.
Freshman Iziah Gordon led GBC with 18 points and Spencer scored 17. Gunter added nine on three triples.
“We felt confident coming into the game and had no reason not to be, but we always knew who we were going up against,” Arvon said.
Tug Valley now has six state championships, the first of which came in 1999. The other five have all come since 2012.
“We’re a poor, ole rural county school. There isn’t a lot going on at Tug Valley other than athletics,” Thompson said. ”But our administration supports us, which is tremendous, whether it’s volleyball, the cheerleaders, football, baseball. We might be the heartbeat of the sports. I get that. Everybody wants us to win and it was evident out there.”