Gallery by Greg Barnett
BRUSHFORK – Bluefield had the perfect plan to smother Wyoming East’s best player in point guard Cole Lambert.
The Warriors meanwhile were unable to contain the Beavers’ best in R.J. Hairston.
Hairston exploded for a game-high 24 points, grabbing 16 rebounds as Bluefield downed Wyoming East 71-48 in the Class AA Region 3 Section title game Tuesday night at the Brushfork Armory.
The sectional title is Bluefield’s third in the last four seasons, all of which have come against Wyoming East.
Hairston was the Beavers’ top source of offense, scoring 20 of his points in the first three quarters. On the boards he nearly out-rebounded East himself as the Beavers managed to win that battle overall 34-18.
“You’ve got to put a body on R.J.,” East head coach Derek Brooks said. “He’s gonna jump two times before you get up once and he did that tonight. I mean, several times around the rim he missed two bunnies (layups) and got his own offensive rebound two or three times. He probably had five rebounds on two possessions. So I mean, we can’t give up that many shots around the rim. They’re gonna eventually make it.”
Eventually was the best way to describe Bluefield’s offense early. Though that was in part due to what East accomplished.
The warriors effectively bled the clock for a minute on the opening possession of the game before finding Konnor Fox for a layup.
Bluefield answered almost immediately when Sencere Fields canned a 3 with Glen Keene later adding a trey of his own to make it 6-2.
Meanwhile Bluefield did little to hide its strategy on defense. After receiving each inbounds pass in the opening quarter, Lambert was doubled-teamed and trapped by Bluefield’s defense and when East tried to set up in the half court the doubles came swiftly, pushing the offense back to the volleyball line.
To Lambert’s credit he was able to find open teammates but the shots failed to fall for them early. The sum was a 12-4 Bluefield lead that was chipped by a Braxton Morgan 3 with under a minute to play in the opening frame.
But Brett Samosky and Hairston were good from deep to close the quarter, staking the hosts to an 18-7 advantage.
With Bluefield still pressuring up on Lambert in the second quarter, the Warriors took advantage, finding the open man. It led to a Brayden Hoosier 3 to open the second quarter, followed by Lambert’s first shot attempt of the game nearly 10 minutes into the contest.
Kam’Ron Gore snapped the skid for Bluefield with a 3 but East’s onslaught continued, culminating in a 12-3 run that brought the Warriors to within two at 21-19.
A timeout refocused the Beavers before the dynamic duo of Gore and Hairston went to work. Hairston finished a three-point play out of the timeout and Gore scored on a layup. Sencere Fields capped the 7-0 run with a layup to end the half, cushioning the Beavers 28-19 at the break.
East made another charge in the third, with Zack Hunt nailing 3-pointers on three consecutive East possessions to get the Warriors within seven at 37-30.
It was an effort that helped East go from shooting 36 percent in the first half to 43 percent in the second half. Unfortunately for the visitors their defense regressed and Bluefield took advantage, blistering the nets at a 61 percent clip (19 of 31) in the second half, up from the 42-percent showing in the first half.
As the East defense disappeared, Hairston had his way. He scored six straight for the Beavers, helping them push their lead to 49-34 in the closing minute of the third quarter.
“Early I don’t think we were aggressive once Cole gave it up with two on him,” Brooks said. “Once Cole gives it up and he’s got two on him we essentially have a fast break and we were turning and looking to get the ball back to Cole instead of attacking. There early in the second quarter I felt we started attacking it once Cole gave it up. We got to the rim and we got some easy bunnies at the rim we got them out of running and doubling Cole but we just didn’t hit shots tonight. Zack started to hit a few there in the second half early but we couldn’t get a stop on the other end. I mean every time he was hitting the 3 they were getting an and-1 layup or 3 theirselves. So you can’t trade buckets with a with a good team like that.”
Leading 51-36 after three quarters, Hairston dealt a demoralizing blow to the visitors, grabbing a pair of offensive rebounds and finishing with a layup.
“I had to take advantage of the mismatches we had,” Hairston said. “So my team put me in the right positions and I just took it straight to the hole all day. That’s what I do.”
Gore finished the job, scoring nine of his 21 points in the final frame, putting an exclamation point on the victory with a one-handed dunk.
“They’re a good solid team and they’re well coached,” Bluefield head coach Buster Large said of East. “This is one of the best rivalries probably in the state. I believe anytime we get together it’s an exciting game and I’m really happy for the turnout tonight and the outcome and see our kids get a chance to move on.”
Fox led Wyoming East with 12 points, joining Hairston and Gore as the only players in double figures.
Both teams are still alive in postseason play. Bluefield will host the loser of the Section 2 championship game next Wednesday while Wyoming East will visit the winner.
WE: 7 12 17 12 – 48
B: 18 10 23 20 – 71
Wyoming East
Cole Lambert 4, Zack Hunt 9, Bryson Huff 3, Braxton Morgan 10, Konnor Fox 12, Brayden Hoosier 3, Dennis Barlev 2, Corey Hall 3, Landen Hodges 2
Bluefield
Sencere Fields 5, Glen Keene 6, Kam’Ron Gore 21, RJ Hairston 24, Brett Samosky 3, EJ Washignton 8, Grayson Parris 2, Jeff King 2
