Charleston – The Class AA clash between No. 1 seed Bluefield and No. 8 Braxton County appeared to be a decided mismatch on paper.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, that was exactly how it played out on the floor in the Capital City.
When the final horn sounded, the Beavers had steamrolled Braxton County, 85-40 in Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center, breaking two state tournament records in the process.
Bluefield established new records across all classes by forcing 37 turnovers and recording 28 steals. All-state guard Kam’Ron Gore tied the Class AA single-game record with 11 steals, a mark set by Bluefield’s Lykel Collier 10 years ago in the Beavers’ last state championship victory.
The Beavers will now play the winner of No. 4 Wheeling Central and No. 5 Williamstown in the Class AA semis on Friday at 5:30.
“We kind of knew what we were getting when we came into this. That team is the No. 1 seed for a reason,” Braxton County head coach Josh Lunceford said. “It’s not only because they are athletic. They are very well coached. They are not only athletic, they are disciplined. My hat goes off to them.”
Glen Keene opened the game with a triple which was followed by a pair of steals for Bluefield and a 5-0 lead that forced a quick timeout from Braxton County.
Brady Toler put the Eagles on the board at the 6:58 mark, but Braxton had no answers early for the pressure brought on by the Beavers.
Eight points from Kam’Ron Gore and four from Hairston ignited a 15-2 start for Bluefield.
Appearing to be in deep trouble, the underdog Eagles came storming back to trail by just four points after the first eight minutes.
“We just went back to what we worked on during the week. I knew (Bluefield) was going to be aggressive and be in passing lanes,” Lunceford said about the comeback. “We hit some back cuts on them, but we also attacked in transition and got some looks there. We can run, but we obviously didn’t want to get in a track meet with Bluefield. The nerves kind of cooled off and we just executed a little better. We were able to play basketball and not just run for our lives at times.”
The high-octane Beavers put the thoughts of a stunning upset to bed in the second quarter.
Five straight points from R.J. Hairston, including a conventional three-point play opened the quarter and built a nine-point lead.
Two additional scores in the paint by Hairston later in the quarter made it a double-digit lead with just over three minutes until halftime.
When the first 16 minutes expired, Bluefield held a 38-20 lead.
At the break, Bluefield had forced 22 turnovers and had 15 steals which they turned into 26 first half points. Hairston tallied 17 points and Gore 13 in the opening quarter.
“We got out of the gates early and forced 22 turnovers. Kam’Ron was a horse tonight with his buddy R.J.,” Bluefield head coach Buster Large said. “We feel very good about being able to advance to tomorrow and have a chance to come here Saturday night.
Lunceford talked about preparing for a team like Bluefield.
“We played eight on five all week. You can’t simulate speed. You can play eight on five all you want. It is realistic and it isn’t,” Lunceford said. “The kids don’t see the opening where it is supposed to be. I don’t have enough speed, five on five, to give these guys a realistic look as well.”
Unfortunately for Braxton County, the first half previewed the tremors of a larger earthquake coming in the third quarter.
“We were on the verge of doing some great things in the second quarter, but we would throw the ball away. We didn’t convert from defense to offense,” Large said. “Right now we have been a third quarter team. We have played very good ball in the third quarter.”
A layup and a dunk by Hairston opened the third period before Brady Toler scored for the Eagles. A pair of free throws from Landon Stewart trimmed the lead to 45-25, but that was the last score over the next four minutes for Braxton County.
Across that same period, Hairston and Gore both threw down slams and the Beavers ran off 19 straight points. After three quarters Bluefield led 70-27.
“We had certain things that we had to do. One of our goals was to limit turnovers and we did. We limited them to 37,” Lunceford said, laughing. “I would like to have limited them to a little bit lower than that.”
In 21 minutes of action, Hairston scored 24 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had six steals. Gore played 20 minutes and also tallied 24 points, along with nine rebounds and 11 steals.
“We practiced a lot of defense this week,” Gore said when asked about his thoughts on the new state records. “Our plan was to just come out hard and execute and that is what we did. I just happened to have those steals.”
E.J. Washington scored 13 points in his first ever appearance on the floor at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. Washington also had, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
“Anytime you come down here, you are going to be a little nervous even though we have been here 12 years in a row. It never gets old,” Large said. “I give my coaching staff credit for preparing these kids. We just have a great thing going.”
Although it was a tough night for the Eagles, it was the second state tournament appearance for Riley Hunt, Landon Stewart and Ryken Rutherford. The threesome are the only basketball players in school history to make two state tournament appearances since Braxton County was formed in 1970.
Lunceford also sees some light at the end of the tunnel for his program.
“Every year I have come down here, I have had seven or eight seniors,” Lunceford said. “I would only bring two or three back. Now I only lose two. Out of 13 kids, I have nine sophomores and freshman in that group. We will be back.”
