Gallery by Karen Akers
Fairlea – Just over two weeks ago, Greenbrier East came to Shady Spring and pushed the Tigers to the limit in a 66-64 loss in the waning seconds.
Unfortunately for the Spartans, they grabbed the attention of the defending Class AAA state champions.
Tuesday night in the rematch between the two schools inside Spartan Gym, Shady Spring came out firing.
Building an 11-0 lead to open the contest, the Tigers fended off numerous runs by the home team for a 71-59 win.
“We have played in two of the toughest places in the state this year. We played at Logan and we didn’t come out victorious. Fairlea is right up there with them. You ask Woodrow (Wilson) and all the other teams how tough it is to play here,” Shady Spring head coach Ronnie Olson said. “They have a great environment and a great feel here. This is a storied program and this game was circled on my calendar. We have talked about running the tables and being the No. 1 seed in the state tournament. Coming here and winning, I was a little nervous inside about how we would perform.”
If the Tigers were nervous to start the game, they sure didn’t show it.
Braden Chapman hit back-to-back 3-pointers to open the game before Jaedan Holstein found Ammar Maxwell for layup in transition.
When Cole Chapman banked in a 3-ball for an 11-point lead, Shady appeared to be well on its way to an easy win.
“I thought Shady Spring did a great job tonight. I tell our kids all the time that we are only playing the best teams in the state, but we have to learn how to beat those teams,” Greenbrier East head coach Jared Patton said. “They came out firing on all cylinders. It caught us off guard a little bit and took us a few minutes to get back in the game.”
A corner-3 from Jude Libby put some water on the Shady fire, but the Tigers still led by nine points early in the second quarter.
It was punch-counter punch for the remainder of the night.
After an old-school three-point play from Aaron Griffith cut the lead to six the Tigers responded with an 8-0 run for a 30-16 lead.
Goose Gabbert answered for the Spartans with his own eight-point explosion, but Shady still led by nine at halftime.
“We came out better than we did at home where we trailed by ten at halftime. I think that was due to them getting our attention in the first game. That team does not quit,” Olson said emphatically.
Trailing by 11 with four minutes left in the third quarter, Bryson Brammer drilled back-to-back 3-balls to help East pull within four points.
“They run the break so hard and really push the ball. (Adam) Seams is not just one of the best guards in our area, he is one of the best in the state,” Olson said. “He gave us fits. He is long and he can see the court. He is smooth and he can shoot. It is so hard to pressure him.”
A long ball from Cameron Manns and a stickback by Holstein made it 49-40 before Brammer drilled his fourth 3-pointer of the quarter.
Manns turned an offensive rebound into a score as the clock ticked inside one minute, but the Spartans regained the momentum on a rainbow 3 from Zach Patton to beat the buzzer.
“I liked the way we came out and I don’t think it was anything that we did bad. We had a couple lapses on defense, but the guys were playing hard,” Olson said. “Greenbrier East was just a little better. We told them at halftime that Greenbrier East was not going to quit. You can get them down 16, but they are very well coached and they will fight back.”
At a crucial point in the game, Shady hit East again right out of the gate to start the final period.
Manns drilled his third triple of the night and when Braden Chapman found twin brother Cole loose for a layup, the lead was back to double digits.
A long ball from Monquelle Davis midway through the quarter trimmed the lead to six points, but Shady ran off seven straight to keep the Spartans at bay.
“Shady is a tough team that is well coached and I love playing against those guys. You have to defend all five players on the floor,” Patton said. “Playing against teams like this, we are going to learn how to bounce back. We will learn how to keep playing and be scrappy. We are going to get there.”
Holstein finished with 16 points, while Manns and Cole Chapman had 15 points apiece. Braden Chapman scored 14 for Shady.
Seams had 16 for East and Brammer finished with 12.
The Tuesday win in Fairlea came on the heels of the Tigers knocking off Class A No. 2 Greater Beckley Christian on Monday.
“These are state tournament type games. This was an environment that is not conducive to success. For this team to handle the huge game last night against Greater Beckley and come out and play hard the entire game like they did, this group is due a break,” Olson said. “We didn’t stop playing. That was two nights of hardcore basketball by this group. We don’t make excuses, but I knew our guys were hurting a little bit and sore.”
Shady Spring hosts Parkersburg Friday night, while Greenbrier East will host Class AAAA No. 2 Jefferson Saturday.
SS: 20 13 18 20 – 71
GE: 13 11 22 13 – 59
Shady Spring
Braden Chapman 14, Cole Chapman 15, Jaedan Holstein 16, Cameron Manns 15, Ammar Maxwell 6, Sam Jordan 3, Gavin Davis 2. Totals: 30 3-4 71.
Greenbrier East
Zach Patton 3, Adam Seams 16, Monquelle Davis 7, Goose Gabbert 8, Aaron Griffith 3, Gabe Patton 5, Kaiden Huffman 2, Jude Libby 3, Bryson Brammer 12. Totals: 17 14-17 59.
3-pointers 8 (B. Chapman 2, C. Chapman 3, Manns 3); 11 (Z. Patton, Seams 2, Davis 2, Gabbert, Libby, Brammer 4).
