Gallery by Tina Laney
The Beckley boys basketball program is not one to relish in moral victories.
However, even in a 60-57 loss Saturday to Class AAAA No. 4 George Washington, the “Baby Birds” were flying strong, pushing the Patriots to the limit.
“We had struggles as well today, but we found a way to win,” George Washington head coach Rick Greene said. “I think Beckley is playing much better now. I saw them Thursday night and that was the best I had seen them play in a while. It is like they have meshed after playing without (all-state guard Elijah) Redfern.”
Coming off wins over Capital Tuesday and Princeton Thursday, the clash with the Patriots was to be a true barometer on how far the Flying Eagles had progressed without Redfern.
“You don’t hear anything about that. He is arguably the best guard in the state, but they are Beckley and they just go play,” Greene said. “Credit to them playing without one of their best players. At this point, you are looking to keep consistently getting better. I thought this was a nice game for us.”
Excuses are not part of the Beckley playbook having dropped some heart-breakers in Redfern’s absence.
“We really feel like we have players that are good enough to cover for not having Elijah,” Beckley head coach Ron Kidd said. “They are trying to prove they can play too and they are doing a good job. I think it is just the poise thing when we need a stop or a shot at the goal.”
The Flying Eagles proved themselves more than worthy to stand toe-to-toe with one of the top teams in the state holding the lead for the majority of the first half.
A score from Zyon Hawthorne with 2:02 to play in the first half gave Beckley a 30-27 lead before a 6-0 spurt from the Patriots flipped the script.
“Sai’Vyon (Brown) came off the bench and he gave us a spurt right there, defensively and offensively. We kind of relaxed,” Greene said. “They were up in us and being physical on defense. He was able to spread them a little bit and get down in the gaps to give us some momentum. We carried it over to the third quarter and that was crucial.”
George Washington advanced the lead to seven points to open the third period where it stood midway through the quarter.
“They were playing good defense, but a lot of that was on us. We turned the ball over some and couldn’t find the open man at the right time,” Kidd said. “It seemed like the turnovers hurt us more than anything. A lot of times we didn’t give ourselves a chance to get over the edge because of the turnovers.”
Surviving a six-minute scoring drought, Beckley trimmed the lead back to one with 1:34 left in the period.
Jaylon Walton scored inside before a no-look pass from Hawthorne found Nazir King for a score. Coby Dillon capped the run with a nice head fake for a score in the lane.
Facing their stiffest test inside this year, Kidd was pleased with the play of Walton and King Saturday.
“I thought they battled the bigs (for George Washington) inside really well,” Kidd said. “(Noah) Lewis is considered a DI prospect. I thought we battled him inside. Jaylon and Naz are getting it going the way we know they can.”
Unfortunately for the Flying Eagles, who never led in the second half, every time they pulled close to the Patriots, the visitors had the answer.
Christian Goebel was the first to stop the Beckley momentum with a 3-pointer to give GW a 42-38 lead with eight minutes to play.
“That is what we weren’t getting in the first part of the year. We couldn’t get that back-to-back free throw to give us a four point lead, or a three at key times,” Green said. “The shots were just rimming out. We have been much more consistent coming out of the Christmas break.”
A triple from Chance Hartwell was followed by a bucket from Goebel for a 47-40 lead, but Beckley kept fighting.
The Flying Eagles scored six in a row to move back within one of the lead, but could get no closer down the stretch.
Free throws from Dawson Lunsford, who ended with 18 points and led four Patriots in double figures, sealed the win for GW at the free-throw line.
“He was really tough tonight,” Greene said. “Dawson is that classic, strong wing shooter and you can’t get the ball from him. He is having a great senior year.”
Hawthorne finished with 16 for Beckley, while Dillon and Walton added 13 points each.
“I thought our kids played hard, so give them credit,” Kidd said. “GW is a good team and a well-coached team, but we played really hard.”
GW: 16 17 9 18 – 60
B: 19 11 8 19 – 57
George Washington
Jackson Clark 11, Christian Goebel 10, Chance Hartwell 11, Noah Lewis 6, Dawson Lunsford 18, Sai’Vyon Brown 4 Totals: 21 11-14 60.
Beckley
Coby Dillon 13, Zyon Hawthorne 16, Preston Clary 7, Nazir King 4, Drew Fitzwater 4, Jaylon Walton 13. 21 9-13 57.
