Gallery by Greg Barnett
Bluefield – The mere mention of the Brushfork Armory makes the hair stand up on the arms of any true Wyoming East basketball fan.
Postseason clashes inside Brushfork have been a virtual “House of Pain” for the Warriors over the years.
Tuesday night, Wyoming East was hoping for a better fate when it battled Bluefield for the Class AA Region 3, Section 1 crown inside the famed dome.
While fate had nothing to do with the outcome, defense sure did.
Holding the home-standing Beavers to a season-low 44 points, Wyoming East brought the sectional title back to New Richmond with a 58-44 triumph.
“This feels great and I am so excited for my guys because they deserve this,” Wyoming East head coach Derek Brooks said. “They have been working hard and we came in and got a W tonight. We focused on defense all week. That is what we had to do and we played it well tonight. This is a big one.”
Charged with guarding Bluefield’s best shooter in Caleb Fuller, Garrett Mitchell staked East to the initial lead with a 3-pointer on the opening possession.
Bluefield answered with six straight points and at that moment, it looked like another Brushfork nightmare was in store for the visitors.
That was not the case on this night and it was the only time the Beavers led in the contest.
Two free throws from Mitchell were followed by a score from Chandler Johnson off an assist from Tanner Whitten.
When a steal from Mitchell ended in a bucket from Whitten, East held a 9-6 lead after one quarter.
A jump shot just inside the arc from R.J. Hairston trimmed the lead back to one point, but the Warriors refused to be denied on this trip to Brushfork.
“It’s my last year and we all want to go out with a bang,” Whitten said. “We still have stuff to do though. Ever since the sectionals started and we were ranked a two seed, we have been playing with a chip on our shoulders.”
A strong move inside for two by Johnson preceded two long balls from Mitchell. Another score in the lane from Johnson gave East its first double-digit advantage with under two minutes to play in the half.
There were some flashback moments of games where leads slipped away. The first scare came at the end of the first half.
A stick back from Jamel Floyd and a bad shot attempt by the Warriors led to a buzzer beater by Chance Johnson.
Bluefield still trailed by seven at the break, but the Beavers clearly carried the momentum with them into the locker room.
Wyoming East immediately turned the momentum back in its favor to start the second half.
“I think we held our composure really well tonight. Every time they got a couple of big buckets, we came down on our end and got buckets as well,” Brooks said. “We broke the pressure and got layups when we had to have them. I thought when the momentum was starting to shift, we would get a couple of buckets and push it back to double digits. Those were big for us.”
After being held to two points in the first half, Whitten set the tone for East with a a long ball and a score inside that ignited a 9-0 run to open the third quarter with a 30-14 lead.
“He hit the first open look that he got. I knew they were going to try a box-and-one. We practiced it this week,” Brooks said. “I told him not to let it frustrate him and just let the game come to him. He would get shots when it was time. Other guys had to step up and hit shots early, but he had a big second half for us.”
The Beavers amped up the pressure and ran off six straight before Whitten drilled a three-ball in transition.
Bluefield kept charging and trimmed the lead to eight on a rainbow jumper from Floyd and Fuller’s only 3-pointer of the game.
The lead stood at eight after three quarters, but again it looked like danger time for the Warriors with Bluefield holding the momentum.
In the first two minutes of the final quarter, it was Mitchell-time for the Warriors.
“Scoring wasn’t even what I focused on for him. You saw how he guarded Fuller, who is a great player, at the Greenbrier (tournament),” Brooks said. “I told him we had to have that again tonight. He did a phenomenal job, not only playing defense, but also scoring. I didn’t expect him to score tonight because he was using so much effort tonight on defense, but he did.”
Two 3-pointers by Mitchell and a basket from Whitten pushed the lead to 14 points.
Wyoming East failed to score on it’s first shot of the quarter, but a diving save from Johnson kept the possession alive. Getting the ball back out top, Mitchell converted Johnson’s hustle play into a crucial 3 to open the final stanza.
“(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. “He also scored the ball well tonight. He finished at the rim and we had to have that. He had an all-around great game and he was the motivator in the locker room.”
Bluefield was within 10 with 4:31 to play, but when Johnson set Whitten up for an easy score and Cole Lambert converted on a 1-plus-1, East was back up 14 points.
“We are very disappointed to lose tonight, but you have to tell the truth. Wyoming East came in here and out-played us,” Bluefield head coach Buster Large said. “They out-hustled us, out-rebounded us and they played smart. We played very, very poorly in the first half. It’s a good win for them.”
Mitchell led all scorers with 23 and Whitten added 21 with 19 coming in the second half. Johnson scored 10.
Wyoming East will host it’s regional co-final clash against the loser of Liberty and Chapmanville. Bluefield is still alive in regional play and will travel to play the winner of Chapmanville-Liberty.
The Class AA regional-co-finals will be played Thursday, March 10.
WE: 9 12 16 21 – 58
B: 6 14 15 15 – 44
Wyoming East
Tanner Whitten 21, Garrett Mitchell 23, Chandler Johnson 10, Cole Lambert 4. Totals: 19 13-16 58.
Bluefield
Ja’eon Flack 8, Caleb Fuller 9, Will Looney 2, R.J. Hairston 9, Jamel Floyd 8. Chance Johnson 8. Totals: 19 3-5 44.
3-pointers – WE: 7 (Mitchell 5, Whitten 2); B: 3 (Flack 2, Fuller).
