Gallery by Ashley Honaker
Lindside – Over the last three seasons a ticket to the boys state basketball tournament has been punched in Lindside as a result of a battle between Greenbrier West and James Monroe.
Regional co-final wins by the Mavericks have been the precursor to state championship titles each of the last two years.
Could James Monroe be poised for another state title?
Only time will tell, but Tuesday night in their fourth straight regional co-final clash it was the Mavs and the Cavs once again for a trip to the Capital City next week.
The dream of three state titles is still alive.
James Monroe took an eight-point lead into halftime and left no doubt with a huge third quarter on the way to a 70-36 win over its rival from Greenbrier County.
The Mavericks are the No. 5 seed for the state tournament and will play No. 4 seed Webster County Wednesday at 9 p.m. in the quarterfinal round.
“The first half was what I thought it would be. It helped in the third quarter that we came out and hit a lot of shots right there at the beginning,” James Monroe head coach Matt Sauvage said. “That kind of deflates somebody. Then they started taking some shots that they probably shouldn’t have, trying to get back in the game. Which is what any team does. Offense is not always our thing, but tonight it looked pretty good.”
Both coaches entered the contest with some reservations about their respective offenses that had struggled at times all season.
The home-standing Mavs found success early at the hands of junior Layton Dowdy who opened the game with a triple.
A pair of long balls from Dowdy and one from Ryan Cole, along with three two-point baskets from their teammates helped build a 17-6 lead after one quarter.
“Overall, outside of the second quarter stretch, our offense was good,” Sauvage said. “However, I cannot say enough about our defense. These guys are like a bunch of dogs. They get after it. That is what I am proud of. They don’t care who you are, they are going after you.”
The defense would be key in the second quarter, when West made a run to pull within five points with 2:33 to play until halftime.
Prior to the run, Cole had ripped a 3-pointer for a 22-8 lead. When Greenbrier West head coach Jared Robertson was hit with a technical foul for questioning a call, Cole split the two free-throws for a 15-point lead.
With the home crowd in a frenzy, the scoring dried up for the Mavericks and Cavaliers ran off 10 straight points.
“Our kids responded, our energy picked up and we made some shots,” Robertson said. “In big games all year, (however), we struggled to make shots and that happened to us again tonight.”
After pulling within five points, four straight empty trips and three careless fouls that sent James Monroe to the line left the Cavaliers in a 28-20 deficit.
The ability of the home team to survive a six-minute stretch during the run without scoring eventually proved to be the difference in the game.
“We got very stagnant. When you get stagnant against man-to-man, it’s not going to be pretty,” Sauvage said. “That was the main focus at halftime, to figure that out. I thought they executed and spread it out a little better in the second half. Our positioning was a tiny bit better and that changes a lot when you can execute that way.”
Two free throws from Braydon McClung, to give him 12 points in a row, pulled West within six points to start the third quarter, but then the wheels fell off the bus for the Cavaliers.
Scoring drives from Cooper Ridgeway and Dowdy quickly changed the momentum. A steal from Ridgeway on the next possession ended in a layup and a 12-point lead.
“When Cooper gets downhill, it doesn’t just change his man, it changes the whole defense. We were able to open up the outside,” Sauvage said. “We didn’t do a very good job in the first half of playing inside-out. We only got Brady (Baker) the ball three or four times. We weren’t driving in and we were settling for the outside shot. We talk about it until we are blue in the face, but the boys have to execute it. I thought they executed it perfectly in the second half.”
Cole’s third 3-ball of the night on a kickout and a conventional 3-point play from Baker made it 41-22 midway through the third period.
McClung scored the first field goal of the second half for the Cavaliers with 2:42 remaining in the third quarter. Unfortunately for Greenbrier West, another field goal did not drop until the 2:42 mark of the final quarter.
“I know the score ended up bad, but that is because we were down and we had to press and trap,” Robertson said. “We had to take some chances and they got to the rim on us. They know Braydon is our scorer. They were doubling and triple-teaming him all night long and got really physical to him. He has to shoot more foul shots in a game like this.”
“Give them credit,” Robertson continued. “Coach Sauvage is a great coach and does a phenomenal job. For him to take what he has had the last couple of years and now completely change their style to win with defense is a testament to him and his staff.”
Playing in his first regional contest in West Virginia after moving back from Virginia this school year, Cole led the Mavs with 20 points, including 11 in the third period with five 3-balls on the night.
“I can’t even put it into words what this means with all of the adversity and struggle I have went through in my career. Finally to be able to break through and get down to states is the best feeling,” Cole said “Starting off before the game, I was pretty nervous. I was pacing and I couldn’t sit down. After that first shot fell, it was all good after that.”
“You would have never known it was his first regional game with us,” Sauvage said. “He had a nice stretch tonight. Every shot he took we thought was going in. Even the ones that rattled out. When he is hitting that, it opens the drives back up again. That changes our offense.”
McClung matched Cole with 20 points in the final game of his high school career.
“It didn’t end the way we wanted it, but it has been a really hard working group that played as a team,” Robertson said. “They have been a family. I pray they stay as brothers like this the rest of their life. That means more than the score of any basketball game. I have been blessed to have this opportunity with these guys.”
GW: 6 14 8 8 – 36
JM: 17 11 25 17 – 70
Greenbrier West
Tanner Hagy 8, Damien Dixon 1, Braydon McClung 20, Chris Davis 3, Colten Dunbar 4. Totals: 10 13-24 36.
James Monroe
Wil Boggess 13, Layton Dowdy 8, Cooper Ridgeway 8, Kadyn Hines 2, Ryan Mann 7, Ryan Cole 20, Brady Baker 10. Totals: 23 17-23 70.
