The stage was set for a possible upset inside the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.
Entering Monday’s battle with Wyoming East, Woodrow Wilson was coming off an emotional win over sectional rival Oak Hill Saturday which snapped a seven-game losing skid.
Add in the fact that Beckley still faced important sectional clashes Wednesday at Princeton and back home Saturday against Greenbrier East, it was possible the Flying Eagles could be caught looking ahead.
Either way, opportunity presented itself and the Warriors took full advantage.
For just the second time in school history, Wyoming East knocked off Woodrow Wilson 46-44.
“That was a big win for us and I preached that to the guys coming in,” Wyoming East head coach Derek Brooks said. “Woodrow is a four-A team with a super prestigious program. They have kids that play hard and they have always been known for athletes and they still have them.”
Woodrow Wilson head coach Ron Kidd was not concerned coming in about his team coming out flat or looking ahead.
“If we played the first half like we did the second half, we would have been alright,” Kidd said. “They should have been on a high with that first win. You should keep wanting to win.”
The first half belonged to East who hit six long balls to build a 27-14 advantage at the break.
“We did everything we wanted to in the first half,” Brooks said. “We played well defensively. We finished the defensive possessions by boxing out and getting rebounds. That has been where we have struggled this year.”
Not only was East hot from behind the arc, the Warriors were getting plenty of second looks on their possessions.
“I think it was our rebounding again,” Kidd lamented. “Then we couldn’t keep them in front of us when we had to go man-to-man. They drove the gap, kicked and they made their shots.”
The Flying Eagles scored the first seven points of the third quarter, but still trailed by seven with just over three minutes left in the period.
Turnovers and the ability of Woodrow guard Elijah Redfern getting in the lane created opportunities for the home team which pulled within two points with one quarter to play.
“We told them we had to get some effort. That was all it was,” Kidd said about the halftime adjustments. “We just had to get down and guard them. I thought we did that in the second half and played with a little scrap. First half we didn’t have that scrap.”
Redfern drilled a straightaway 3 to open the quarter to give Woodrow its first lead since 4-0 in the first quarter. Brayden Hawthorne then electrified the home crowd with a 4-point play after he was fouled on a rainbow 3 from the corner.
“We knew they were going to come out and give us all they had in that third quarter,” Brooks said. “They are known for their pressure defense. We knew they would try to force turnovers and get back in the ball game and they did that.”
Complicating things for East was the fact that Whitten picked up his fourth foul with 6:39 to play.
“Jacob Howard stepped in and played well for us in the fourth quarter. He didn’t have to score to help the team out. He got in there, played good defense, boxed out and rebounded well,” Brooks said. “He may have only played five or six minutes, but those were huge minutes right there. Each and every guy that stepped on the floor helped us tonight.”
Still trailing by five points, Brooks reinserted Whitten with 4:20 to play and the senior all-stater paid immediate dividends with a baseline drive that resulted in a 3-point play.
A score from Redfern for a 42-38 lead was answered by a baseline jumper from Cole Lambert as the clock ticked under three minutes.
Out of a Wyoming East timeout with 1:41 to play, Mitchell drilled a 3-pointer from straight down the middle to give East the lead back at 43-42.
“The play is for either Whitten to get the ball on the block, or me coming around a double-screen there,” Mitchell said. “I think maybe they thought we were going to go to Whitten, so when I came around I was open. I let it fly and I was confident it would go in.”
“It was a big shot and I expected him to hit it, honestly. Garrett has hit big shots for us all year,” Brooks said.
A pull-up jumper from Redfern put Woodrow back on top with 1:05 to play. Unfortunately for the Flying Eagles, that was the last shot tat dropped for them.
Woodrow’s sophomore standout led all scorers with 25 points on the night.
“(Redfern) is a really good player and he was tough to handle,” Brooks said. “He handles the ball very well, gets separation and he jumps on his pull-up. Cole is 5-foot-9 and guarded him well, he just hit tough shots.”
Needing a basket to take the lead, Wyoming East went inside to Chandler Johnson who muscled his way in for the go-ahead score.
“We have been working with Chandler on getting him to explode to the basket,” Brooks said. “It is tough for people to go up and him not finish with contact there because he is so strong. He is going to get fouled or get a wide-open layup.”
Woodrow Wilson had a good look at the end for the tie, but the shot was off the mark.
“I am super proud of my guys for hanging in there and still prevailing,” Brooks said.
Mitchell and Whitten led the Warriors with 16 points apiece and Johnson scored nine. Wyoming East is back in action Tuesday at Shady Spring.
WE: 10 17 8 11 – 46
WW: 8 6 19 11 – 44
Wyoming East
Tanner Whitten 16, Garrett Mitchell 16, Tucker Cook 3, Chandler Johnson 9, Cole Lambert 2. Totals: 17 4-10 46.
Woodrow Wilson
Maddex McMillen 5, Landyn Wolfe 5, Elijah Redfern 25, Brayden Hawthorne 7, Jaylon Walton 2. Totals: 15 10-11 44.
3-pointers – WE: 8 (Whitten 2, Mitchell 4, Cook, Johnson); WW: 4 (McMillen, Redfern, Hawthorne 2).
