Gallery by Heather Belcher
The talk about the demise of the Woodrow Wilson boys basketball team might be a bit premature.
After a couple of rough performances on the road this week at Shady Spring and University, the Flying Eagles rose from the ashes to knock off Princeton Saturday night inside the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.
Riding the play of its two young stars, Woodrow Wilson knocked off the Tigers 68-64 to earn a crucial sectional win.
“We knew this game had a lot to do with sectionals and where we would play,” sophomore point guard Elijah Redfern said. “We knew we had to come out tonight, play hard and just play like we knew how to play. If we played as a team, we knew it would be alright.”
The visitors led just once at 3-2 and after the game was tied twice, Woodrow Wilson quickly showed it meant business.
Thirteen first-quarter points from Brayden Hawthorne helped Beckley race out to a 21-12 lead after the first eight minutes.
“(Brayden) is really playing good. He is growing into his body and playing with confidence,” Redfern said. “If he continues to play like that we can be a very successful team.”
A deep bomb from Hawthorne midway through the second period gave the Flying Eagles a 31-18 lead.
Forced to throw Hawthorne into the fire maybe a little sooner than he would have liked, Beckley head coach Ron Kidd was impressed with the play of his young freshman.
“I think one shot he hit from the Golden Bear head on the floor,” Kidd said with a grin. “He is really stepping up and has helped us a whole lot. As they say, at this time of the year, he is no longer a freshman, he is a sophomore.”
Princeton stayed within striking distance with some strong shooting from deep. The Tigers made five long balls in the second quarter with three coming from Jared Watson off the bench.
“Princeton has been shooting pretty good the last few games,” Kidd said. “We just have to get up on them better and make them put the ball on the floor. If they are standing still and just shoot, they are going to make it.”
During its rough patches this season, turnovers have befuddled Woodrow Wilson. Early in the second half, turnovers became an issue again.
This time however, Woodrow weathered every storm Princeton threw its way.
After the lead dropped to four points at the midway point of the quarter, Sam Peck drilled a corner 3, followed by a triple from Redfern for a 52-42 lead.
“They weathered that storm and played through it. It is just a matter of being locked in and focused. We have to play good for the entire 32 minutes,” Kidd explained. “I thought we played good for the first 16 minutes, but when we came out in the third, it was like we went back to sleep. We went back to our old ways and had some turnovers. Princeton wasn’t doing anything different, we just got careless with the basketball.”
Down by 11 after three quarters, Princeton heated up again from deep, cutting the Beckley lead to 61-60 with just over four minutes to play.
“They started coming back on us a little bit, but we just had to stay composed and keep it together. Luckily we made it though tonight,” Redfern said.
Two free throws from Redfern gave Beckley some breathing room, but Hawthorne made the play of the game on the next Princeton possession.
Stepping in the passing lane, he intercepted the pass and raced to the other end for a crucial score with two minutes to play.
A pair of free throws from Hawthorne, which gave him 20 points on the night, and one from Redfern down the stretch, sealed the much-needed win for Beckley.
Redfern finished with a game-high 29 points, 19 coming in the second half to pace the Flying Eagles.
“Without him doing the things he did tonight, there is no way we have a chance to win. A couple of times he rushed things, but he is trying to win. As long as he is trying to win, there isn’t anything I am going to say about that,” Kidd said.
One of the keys to the win according to Kidd was Beckley’s ability to neutralize Princeton’s play down low.
“Their kids inside are extremely athletic and physical. I thought our bigs played good on them inside tonight,” Kidd said. “I thought Mike (Miller) did a good job when he was in there and I thought Caleb (Gravely) really battled. We just need him to concentrate and make those easy shots. We are creating some bunnies down there and we just need to convert those.”
Saturday’s win gives the Flying Eagles a win over all three sectional opponents this year.
“I think if we come out with the right mindset, we can beat anybody in the section and anybody in the region. We are just trying to win and not worry about anything else that going on,” Kidd said.
Princeton head coach Robb Williams was unavailable for comment after the game.
Both teams are back in action Tuesday when Woodrow Wilson (5-14) hosts Capital and Princeton hosts Bluefield.
P: 12 19 15 18 – 64
WW: 21 19 17 11 – 68
Princeton
Jared Watson 12, Devon Edwards 3, Aiden Ash 6, Chase Hancock 8, Kham Hurte 6, Grant Cochran 5, Kris Joyce 5, E.J. Washington 13, Gavin Stover 3, John Wellman 3. Totals: 20 13-19 64.
Woodrow Wilson
Elijah Redfern 29, Braden Hawthorne 20, Zan Hill 2, Sam Peck 5, Caleb Gravely 6, Mike Miller 6. Totals: 22 18-24 68.
3-pointers – P: 11 (Watson 4, Edwards, Hurte 2, Joyce, Washington 2, Stover); WW: 6 (Redfern 2, Hawthorne 3, Peck).
