A quick glance at the regular season record for Wyoming East raises an eyebrow.
Dig a little deeper and you see the Warriors (12-11) have played one of the toughest schedules in Class AA.
Prior to the postseason, Wyoming East battled Class AAA defending state champion Shady Spring, Class AAAA Cabell Midland and Class A defending champion Man, just to name a few.
The Warriors have two wins over Class AA power Bluefield, including the sectional championship game at the Brushfork Armory. When you add in wins over Woodrow Wilson, Mingo Central, Charleston Catholic and Chapmanville, the record starts to look more impressive.
Now Wyoming East finds itself one win away from a berth in the Boys State Tournament for the first time since 2017.
Thursday night, the Warriors will host Liberty in one Class AA Region 3 co-final clash, while Bluefield will travel to Chapmanville in the other co-final game.
The two winners will then advance to the state tournament to be played at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center March 15-19.
Senior all-stater Tanner Whitten and junior Garrett Mitchell are the main scoring threats for East. The dynamic duo combined for 45 points in the sectional championship win over Bluefield.
Junior big man Chandler Johnson has really come into his own during the postseason as an energizing force for head coach Derek Brooks’ team.
“(Chandler) is the guy who is going to lay his body on the line. I never question him getting on the floor. I know it’s going to happen. If there is a loose ball near him, he will go through you to get on the floor and get it,” Brooks said after the Bluefield win.
Sophomore point guard Cole Lambert flies a bit under the radar, but his ability to handle defensive pressure has been a huge key to the success for Wyoming East.
At the beginning of the season, the list of people who believed Liberty would be playing for a state tournament berth would have likely been a small one.
After all, the Raiders suffered a serious blow before the first regular season game when all-stater A.J. Williams was lost for the season to a knee injury.
While it took a little time to find itself, Liberty has finished the season strong under head coach Chad Williams.
Senior Adam Drennen has been a force in the paint, while fellow senior Adam McGhee has also provided much needed scoring for the Raiders.
Add in the emergence of another Williams – Ethan Williams – and Liberty has become a force to be reckoned with in the postseason.
Wyoming East and Liberty played twice during the regular season with the Warriors bringing home the win in both games.
Brooks says he is not concerned about his team overlooking the Raiders.
“We know what this game means to us and we know it is our chance to get to Charleston,” Brooks said. “We have stressed over and over that we cannot overlook them because Liberty will come ready to play. “We just have to come with the same energy and effort that we had against Bluefield.”
If Liberty is to pull off what many feel would be a stunner, Williams says his team must play more physical on both ends of the floor this time and handle East’s ball pressure better.
Bluefield spent most of the year ranked No. 2 in the Class AA polls and finished the year with a 16-4 mark.
Now the Beavers find themselves on the road at Chapmanville with a state tournament berth on the line.
Wins for opposing teams in the Chapmanville-Harts area do not come easy.
Bluefield is led by sharpshooter Caleb Fuller and the inside presence if R.J. Hairston. Both players will have to find ways to score against the stingy Tiger zone defense.
Sophomore Zion Blevins stands 6-foot-7 and plays inside and out for Chapmanville. Juniors Brody Dalton and Devon Workman are also scoring threats that Bluefield will have to stop.