Gallery by Karen Akers
No matter the records or the setting, when Shady Spring lines up across from Woodrow Wilson, it’s always personal.
Entering the game as the obvious favorite, the defending Class AAA state champions still played like they had something to prove.
Running out to an 18-5 lead and knocking down 12 shots from deep, Shady Spring was never threatened in a 77-51 win at home.
“This win is big. It’s big because we are in the same county. It’s bigger than other teams we play because it’s Woodrow,” Shady Spring head coach Ronnie Olson said. “We feel like we are the team now in the county and we want to be that team.”
“We want to have that program that is established. When you play Woodrow, they have that kind of program,” Olson went on to say. “It is a rivalry game and it was another great atmosphere here. Those guys have played against each other all through middle school, summer league and now high school. It is a little personal. I have the utmost respect for coach Kidd, but we have to take care of Shady. There wasn’t a lot that needed to be said for this game. We want to beat them and they want to beat us. They were pretty excited early in the game as well.”
Crisp passing and penetration led to a 3-pointer by Cameron Manns to open the game. Braden Chapman followed with a home run ball from deep and Shady never trailed in the contest.
“We have always kind of looked at them as like the big brother and we want to take over as the best team in Raleigh County,” Chapman said.
Chapman backed up his words with his play. The all-state junior drilled five 3-pointers in the opening half to help Shady Spring build a 40-23 advantage at the break.
“Braden has perfect form. It has just been a little mechanic issue and rushing the shot a little. He is a confidence guy. With Braden, you can see it,” Olson said. “He is playing on a different level right now. We said if we can get him shooting, the way he goes downhill and rebounds, we are going to be very tough to stop.”
A triple from Chapman to open the second half gave the Tigers a 20-point lead.
Elijah Redfern stopped the bleeding temporarily for the visitors, but a four-minute scoring drought allowed Shady to put the game out of reach.
After Chapman found Jaedan Holstein streaking to the rim for a layup, twin brother Cole Chapman set up Ammar Maxwell for a layup and an old fashion three-point play.
A bomb from Braden Chapman continued the run which was followed by another conventional three-point play from Cole Chapman.
Shady’s third three-point play of the quarter came on the next trip when Sam Jordan cashed in on an assist from Cole Chapman.
When Braden Chapman drilled his third long ball of the quarter and Manns hit the first of two free throws, the Tigers led 61-31.
“I don’t know how I can fault a 26-point game. The pace was a little weird, but the intensity was there tonight,” Olson said. “I thought the half-court offense struggled a little bit, but transition was good and we shot the lights out. I am happy with the performance.”
Although Braden Chapman had some struggles early in the season, those times seemed far removed Tuesday night as Chapman finished with 26 points.
“I think it’s just putting up shots after practice, before practice and repetition on my shots with my dad and my brother,” Chapman said about his turnaround.
Cole Chapman added 17 and Maxwell scored 13. Manns and Holstein added eight points apiece.
“When you beat a team like that I am going to be happy. There was so much edge and energy behind this game that you want to be perfect. It’s a big game for our students and our community.”
“I had a guy come up to me that had traveled in from Hickory, N.C. He was on one of the first Shady Spring teams and they would get their butts beat by Woodrow,” Olson added. “He wanted to come in and watch the game. That means something to me for the history and tradition of our program. I am trying to rub that off on our kids.”
The lone bright spot for the Flying Eagles was the play of Redfern who scored a game-high 34 points.
“He is a big-time player. He is going to play college basketball,” Olson said. “He is really, really hard to stop because he is so quick and good with the ball. He is also a great passer and I was worried a lot about him.”
Woodrow Wilson head coach Ron Kidd had no comment after the game.
WW: 14 9 13 15 – 51
SS: 25 15 21 16 – 77
Woodrow Wilson
Elijah Redfern 34, Brayden Hawthorne 7, Elijah Waller 2, Isaiah Patterson 2, Mike Miller 2, Jaylon Walton 4. Totals: 18 9-18 51.
Shady Spring
Braden Chapman 26, Cole Chapman 17, Jaedan Holstein 8, Cameron Manns 8, Ammar Maxwell 13, Sam Jordan 3, Gavin Davis 2. Totals: 28 9-11 77.
3-pointers – WW: 6 (Redfern 5, Hawthorne); SS: 12 (B. Chapman 8, C. Chapman 2, Manns, Maxwell).
