Bluefield has been a staple at the state tournament for a decade.
However, only once over that span have the Beavers been forced to win a regional road game to advance to the field of eight at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center..
In 2016, Bluefield traveled to Clear Fork and knocked off Westside on a Mookie Collier tip-in to beat the buzzer.
If Bluefield was to maintain their impressive state tournament streak this year, it would again come via a tough road win.
Thursday night, the Beavers traveled to Chapmanville for a spot in the big dance.
Excluding the 2020 season when the Class AA regional games were not played due to the Covid pandemic, the Tigers had won every regional co-final played at home.
Chapmanville’s only two regular season losses at home came to Poca, the top ranked team in Class AA, and to Logan, who was the top ranked team in Class AAA at the time.
Against some tough odds, Bluefield played one of its best games of the season and stunned the Tigers 51-42.
“Chapmanville is a very difficult place to play, but our kids played well and played with a lot of intensity,” Bluefield head coach Buster Large said. “We had a lot of confidence going into the game. The kids got it done against a very, very good team. It was a great job by my coaching staff, Tony Webster, Jody Fuller and Doug Miller.”
Caleb Fuller led the Beaver with 18 points, while R.J. Hairston had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Chance Johnson scored 12 points.
Fuller has been the top gun for Bluefield averaging 19 points per game and is shooting over 50 percent from behind the arc.
Hairston has been a menace in the paint for opposing defenses averaging 15.1 points per game and almost 10 rebounds a night.
“R.J. is getting better and better each game. Chance Johnson has had some big games for us and Fuller does a great job scoring,” Large said. “Ja’eon Flack does a great handling the ball for us.”
Bluefield won back-to-back Class AA titles in 2013 and 2014 after finishing runner-up in 2012. In 2013 the Beavers toppled Fairmont Sr. 63-43 and beat undefeated Robert C. Byrd, 64-39 in 2014.
Since 2014, the Beavers have only made it out of the quarterfinal round just once 2019.
“We have been there a few times, but we just want to try and survive. When you walk out in that coliseum, it is not an easy place to play,” Large said.
If Bluefield wants to make it past day one at the state tournament this year, it will have to do it against a familiar foe – Wyoming East.
The two Region 3 rivals have met three times this season with the Warriors winning the last two, including the sectional championship game played at Brushfork Armory.
Wyoming East also beat Bluefield at the Battle for the Springhouse Tournament held at The Greenbrier. The Beavers held an 11-point halftime lead before falling in overtime.
“Our intensity wasn’t good against Wyoming East in the sectional game,” Large said. “They played harder than we did.”
Wyoming East was also able to stymie both Fuller and Hairston in that sectional contest. As a result, the Beavers struggled mightily to score and was held to their lowest point total of the season.
“We are looking forward to it. We expect it to be a hard game and it’s going to be a battle,” Large said. “We are excited to be there and they will be excited to be there.”
Bluefield and Wyoming East will meet Wednesday at 11:15 a.m. The winner will move on to Friday’s semifinal round and play the winner of Braxton County and St. Marys at 9:30 a.m.
The Class AA championship game will be played Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
