Gallery by Craig Allison
Institute – Bluefield stunned Chapmanville in their building last year to win the Region 3 co-final.
The two Class AA titans could meet again this year in regional action or even in the boys state tournament in mid-March.
Tuesday night, the No. 3 ranked Tigers and the No. 2 ranked Beavers matched up for their only regular season meeting in the Par Mar Stores Shootout played at W.Va. State University.
Once again it was Bluefield that stood tall when the final horn sounded.
Fighting off a miserable start, the Beavers rode a 17-0 run in the second half to secure a 74-63 win.
“The kids came out and played hard. They got down early, but we didn’t over react,” Bluefield head coach Buster Large said. “Really proud of the kids and the coaches. It was an outstanding effort.”
Over the first five minutes of the game it looked liked the Beavers had left their game back in Bluefield.
With turnovers and poor shots mounting, Chapmanville took a 12-2 lead.
A 3-pointer from Caleb Fuller ended the drought for Bluefield, but the Tigers still led 19-12 after one quarter of play.
Midway through the second quarter, the turnover count for the Beavers was up to nine and with 4:20 to play Chapmanville appeared in control up by 10 points.
“We started off slow and we just had to get settled in,” Fuller said. “Once we settled in, we got focused and played good ball. We had a big second quarter and that helped us coming into to halftime.”
With 2:40 remaining until halftime, Bluefield still looked fortunate to be in the game. Over the final minutes of the quarter, however, the Beavers proved they were ready to make a run at the victory.
A bucket from Will Looney and a strong drive to the rim from Fuller cut the lead to five points.
Devon Workman answered for the Tigers with a deuce, but Bluefield stole the momentum with a triple for Kam’Ron Gore and another score from Fuller to pull within one point at the break.
Asked about the difference in the play for Bluefield down the stretch, Fuller flashed a sly grin and laughed.
“I don’t know. Maybe we got a little fire from the coaches and they hyped us up,” Fuller said.
The poise shown by Bluefield during the early struggles would ultimately be the difference in the game.
“We talk in practice every day about the main things we need to do like free throws and crashing the boards,” Looney said. “Things were a little rough at the beginning of the year, but we have been working on it. It is all about the process to get where we want to be.”
A 3-pointer from Sencere Fields opened the third quarter and gave Bluefield its first lead since 2-0 to start the game.
The two teams then went back and forth for the next six minutes, but when Fields scored his eighth point of the quarter, the game was tied at 42-apiece.
“Sencere played well. He handled the ball well, took care of the ball and found the open man,” Fuller said. “He was able to get to the rim and he hit some big shots.”
A bucket from Sal Dean gave Chapmanville its final lead of the night, only to see the Beavers go on the game deciding run.
Fuller started the burst by hitting a fade-away jumper in the lane for the tie before R.J. Hairston scored off back-to-back offensive rebounds.
Just as it went to end the first quarter, with the clock ticking down in the third, the ball found its way into Fuller’s hand again. Fuller, no stranger to buzzer beaters in his career, nailed the 3-ball to give Bluefield a 51-44 lead.
“I see that clock running down, I just look for the ball and hope it goes in,” Fuller said with a smile.
Looney scored to push the lead to nine before Gore stepped into a 3-ball and canned it for a double digit lead.
Less than 30 seconds later when the defender left Gore alone at the 3-point line, he drilled another long ball for a 15-point lead, the biggest of the night for the Beavers.
“We moved the ball great today and we had a lot of guys scoring the ball,” Fuller said. “That is what it takes. It was a team effort.”
A flurry by the Tigers trimmed the advantage back to five points with 3:29 to play, but that was as close as Chapmanville could get.
“They are a good regional opponent and we were fortunate to get them last year at their place to got to states,” Looney said. “Playing them here, with this atmosphere will help get us ready for Charleston. We just wanted to take care of business.”
Fuller led the Beavers with 18, but the Beavers had strong nights all down the lineup. Looney ended with 17, while Fields scored 16, Gore had 13 and Hairston added eight.
Hairston pulled down nine rebounds and Looney grabbed eight. Fields had six rebounds and four steals.
Blevins led Chapmanville with 21 points with 16 rebounds and Dean scored 20. Brody Dalton had six points and five rebounds for the Tigers, but was unable to play in the second half due to a lower leg injury.
“It is a big win. Chapmanville is really talented this year and we knew that coming in. We knew we were going to get a great game,” Fuller said. “I am just proud of our guys and how we finished down the stretch. That is something we haven’t done very well so far this season. The last quarter we came together and finished it out.”
Bluefield heads to James Monroe Friday night for a date with the top team in Class A.
“They got us the first time at the (Brushfork) Armory. They are a good team,” Fuller said. “They are ranked No. 1 in single-A for a reason. Probably one of the best teams in the state really. We know they are good and we will have to come ready.”
