The past couple of weeks, the focus in Class A Region 3, Section 1 has been off the court with eligibility issues at Greater Beckley Christian.
Monday night, all eyes shift back to the hardwood when the quest for a berth in the W.Va. Boys State Basketball Tournament begins.
The opening round matchup features No. 5 Montcalm traveling to No. 4 River View. Top-seeded James Monroe will host that winner Tuesday night, while No. 3 seed Greater Beckley Christian heads to No. 2 seed Mount View.
The winners will meet Thursday at Bluefield State at 7 p.m. in the championship tilt.
The Mavericks (21-1) are ranked No. 1 in Class A and have sliced through the competition like a razor-sharp sword this year including a pair of lopsided wins over Montcalm and River View.
“We felt like we had a pretty good team, but you never know what’s going to happen. They have definitely stepped up to the challenge and it has been fun,” James Monroe head coach Matt Sauvage said. “The biggest focus this year has been on each game and each practice. We wanted to take it one at a time and enjoy the journey.”
“Up to this point it has been a fun journey. Not just because of the wins, but because the personalities, the attitudes and so on,” Sauvage went on to say.
James Monroe heads into the postseason on a 19-game win streak with 18 of its 21 conquests coming by double-digits.
Shad Sauvage averages 19.6 points per game and holds virtually ever career record at James Monroe including varsity games played, free throws made and career points scored. The senior standout is also a 3-points bomber for the Mavs.
Eli Allen is a player that fills up the stat sheet each night and holds the record in Lindside for the most triple-doubles. Allen averages 20.6 points per game, along with 9.5 assists and 9.0 rebounds.
Riding shotgun with the two dynamic all-staters, Sauvage has received solid contributions from Cameron Thomas (11.5), Collin Fox (9.1) and Josh Burks (6.2) who is the team’s best defender.
After seeing a promising run to Charleston end in frustration last year in a regional upset, the Mavs will be on-point from game one this postseason.
“We didn’t talk about it at the beginning of the season. We didn’t have to. The drive was there because of it,” Sauvage said. “Here in the past week or so, we haven’t specifically brought up that game, but we have talked about focusing in on each game that we have left. We don’t want to take anything for granted. We want to give everything we have because you never know when it will be your last.”
James Monroe will be seeking just the second state tournament appearance in school history and the first since the 1995-96 season.
The road to Charleston got a little more hilly for Greater Beckley Christian when four players were ruled ineligible and several games had to be forfeited last week.
What likely would have been a No. 2 seed and a first-round home game, turned into a 3-seed and trip to the top of the hill at Mount View.
The Crusaders have one of the top guard tandems in the state with all-stater Kaden Smallwood and Kendrick Wilson. Both players average right at 20 points and have the ability to take over games at crunch-time.
John Rose is also a double-digit scorer, while Sean-David Kadjo has been a force on the glass and Michael Judy give Greater Beckley a solid deep threat.
Losing four key players has limited the depth for the Crusaders and could be the Achilles heel for the postseason run.
Mount View is a senior dominated team that creates a myriad of problems for opposing teams.
The Golden Knights are explosive, extremely quick and athletic. The boys from Welch appear to be peaking at the right time.
Tony Bailey and Justin Haggerty have been the top scoring threats of late, but the key to Mount View’s success has been balanced scoring.
Jason Haggerty, Brendon Rotenberry and Malaki Bishop can all ring up double-digit nights at anytime.
