Gallery by Karen Akers
Following two lopsided losses to Shady Spring in the regular season, Westside came to town Wednesday hoping to stun the defending Class AAA state champions.
The Tigers were not interested in being on wrong side of postseason history.
Placing six players in double figures and hitting 15 shots from behind the arc, Shady Spring rolled to a 99-59 win over the Renegades in the Region 3, Section 1 championship game.
After a slow start in Monday’s sectional semifinal against PikeView, Shady Spring head coach Ronnie Olson warned his team about the dangers of complacency.
“You can look on our board in the locker room and it has the pure definition of complacency. I wrote it word for word. I felt like we had been playing that way,” Olson said. “I think they took that to heart. We talked about things that could put us in danger like giving yourself up in a game that you should win.”
Sam Jordan, who came off the bench to score 19 points, echoed Olson’s words.
“We came out slow against PikeView. Coach didn’t like it and we didn’t like it either. We came out with the mindset that Westside thinks they can beat us. If we didn’t play our hardest and give it all we have, it could be a big upset.”
The atmosphere was electric to start the game with both fan bases filling the gymnasium.
Evan Colucci created the first roar when he drilled a 3-ball to give Westside the initial 3-0 lead.
The Shady Spring side exploded when Cameron Manns evened the game with a long ball before he whipped a pass cross-court to Ammar Maxwell.
Maxwell drilled Shady’s second long ball and the Tigers never trailed the rest of the night.
For a Shady team that had struggled somewhat by its standards the last few games from deep, seeing the first two bombs drop was just what Olson wanted to see.
“I think that is why teams play us zone and I told the team yesterday that (Westside) would play us zone,” Olson said. “We are so tough to play zone against when we shoot like that. If we shoot like that and the way we defend, we are very hard to stop. Coming out like that, shooting the ball with energy, that is the team we want right there.”
An old school three-point play from Shandell Adkins brought the Renegades within two with just under five minutes left in the first quarter.
For the next five minutes, crisp ball movement and unselfish play led to a 3-point barrage by the Tigers.
Making five more 3’s, Shady Spring went on an 18-5 run to close the quarter in an incredibly fast-paced game.
The Tigers made their seven first-quarter 3-pointers on just 10 attempts.
“We had one stretch against PikeView where we didn’t make the extra pass. We worked on that at practice. That is what makes us so special,” Olson said. “We are better with us, than we are with just you. We stress that because we are better together. I think they showed tonight that when we share the ball and play defense, we are a tough machine to stop.”
When the halftime horn sounded, Shady had drilled 10 triples and led 49-27.
“I didn’t see what I wanted to see out of my team tonight. I am not sure if it was the overwhelming crowd or the big atmosphere, but we did a lot of watching tonight,” Westside head coach Shawn Jenkins said. “We haven’t done a lot of watching in the last four games, but we watched a lot tonight. We just lost total focus from the tip on.”
Holding a 22-point lead at the break, the Tigers could have come out flat to start the second half. Instead, Shady Spring controlled the paint and ran off eight straight for a 57-27 lead.
“We could have come out slow. The locker room was loose at halftime and I didn’t have a lot of adjustments. I told them state champs take care of business,” Olson said. “We took care of business.”
A tip-in from Jaedan Holstein, who scored 12 points on the night, was followed by a pair of charity tosses from Jordan who was fouled attacking the basket.
A coast-to-coast drive for a layup from Cole Chapman and a stickback from Holstein capped the run and set the tone for the second half.
Maxwell scored 20 for the Tigers and Braden Chapman added 16. Cole Chapman had 14 and Manns scored 10.
Dale Bledsoe led the Renegades with 16 points and Adkins scored 11.
“We had a good practice yesterday and I could tell before the game that they didn’t want to go on the road next week,” Olson said. “I knew from the first quarter there was going to be no beating us tonight.”
Both teams advance to next Tuesday’s regional round. Shady Spring will host the loser of Herbert Hoover and Sissonville in one co-final clash. Westside will travel to play the winner between the Huskies and the Indians in the other game.
“We are alright. We still played hard at times. I thought Dale Bledsoe played a really good game. We still have one more and that is what we are looking at now,” Jenkins said. “People say you have to hold the ball and stuff like that. That is not how we play. I figured if I was going to go down, I was going down swinging. That was my thought process because that is what we will do against either (Herbert Hoover or Sissonville). We will still play our game.”
The two regional co-final winners advance to the Boys State Basketball Tournament March 15-19 in Charleston.
W: 13 13 14 19 – 59
SS: 28 21 24 26 – 99
Westside
Evan Colucci 7, Dale Bledsoe 16, Ashton Reed 8, Shandell Adkins 11, Bryson Blankenship 4, Austin Cline 8, Kody Blackburn 3, Owen Keeney 2. Totals: 22 9-16 59.
Shady Spring
Braden Chapman 16, Cole Chapman 14, Jaedan Holstein 12, Cameron Manns 10, Ammar Maxwell 20, Sam Jordan 19, Gavin Davis 5, Jalen Bailey 1, Nathan Richmond 2. Totals: 35 14-19 99.
