Gallery by Heather BelcherĀ
The annual Little General Stores Scott Brown Basketball Classic has always been a fun time on the hardwood for senior standouts across West Virginia.
However, there always comes a time when the competitive juices kick in and fun turns into the desire to win.
Saturday afternoon that time came midway through the second half.
With the Mid-State Automotive AAAA-A all-stars trailing the C. Adam Toney Tires AAA-AA all-stars 77-69, Elijah Redfern took over.
The first team all-stater from Beckley sparked a 14-4 run, giving his team a lead it never relinquished.
When the final horn sounded, Redfern and his teammates held a 111-95 edge to take the 2024 boys title.
“You know (Shady Spring boys basketball head coach) Ronnie (Olson) is going to have his guys playing hard,” Morgantown head coach Dave Tallman) said. “I think they out-rebounded us by seven in the first half. That made me get off the bench and coach a little bit. We just amped up the pressure in the second half. We have some pretty good athletes out there.”
The C. Adam Toney all-stars trailed by five early before running off 14 straight points highlighted by a couple of big time slams.
R.J. Hairston from Bluefield recorded his second slam in the early going on an assist from Summers County’s three-sport all-stater, Brandan Isaac.
Hairston was the distributor on the next big jam, finding Ammar Maxwell from Shady Spring rolling down the lane. Maxwell went high above the rim for a dunk that brought both benches to their feet.
The Bluefield senior also won the dunk contest prior to the game. The winner came when Hairston slammed one home over David Thomas from PikeView and a youngster from the crowd standing in the lane.
“I wasn’t going to join the contest because there were some high flyers in there. I just had to think outside the box because I don’t jump the highest,” Hairston said. “I went outside the box and won it. Brandan Isaac gave me a little boost to do it. So I told him I would do it for him.”
Mid-State roared back to take the biggest lead of the night, 45-36, with four minutes to play in the first half.
The big moment in that stretch was an assist from W.Va. State Player of the Year Sharron Young from Morgantown.
Attacking the basket, Young pitched the ball off the glass to Redfern who slammed it home over the defender.
“It was a really good pass,” Redfern said. “I wasn’t expecting it at all, so I was kind of jogging. I saw him let it go and I knew I had to jump.”
C. Adam Toney controlled the final four minutes of the opening half for to earn a 53-53 tie at the break.
The AAA-AA group rode that momentum into the second half, building the 77-69 lead with 11:30 to play.
Isaac scored nine points in that stretch to pace the C. Adam Toney squad. The Bobcat standout scored 15 points on the night and made seven two-point field goals.
“Like I have said before, people aren’t used to guarding that mid-range. I was able to get to that spot a couple of times and raise up quick and score some buckets,” Isaac said. “Anytime you come out here and play with guys from all around the state, it’s going to be hard. I felt like I held my own tonight. I don’t think (Summers County) has had a guy play in an all-star game in a while. So, to come out and drop a couple of buckets was nice.”
After splitting two free throws, Redfern converted back-to-back three-point plays to jump-start his team. One came via the old school route and one from behind the arc, cutting the lead to one-point.
Two charity tosses from Hayden Pyles from Magnolia was countered by an alley-oop slam from Redfern to Jacob King from Morgantown.
Following a score from Bluefield’s Kam’Ron Gore for C. Adam Toney, Redfern drilled another three-ball to tie the game. The Mid-State squad never looked back.
Although he was the top scoring threat over that stretch, Redfern talked about a Beckley staple – defense.
“The main thing in that stretch was playing defense and getting stops. When we were trailing by eight points everything we were able do was from getting stops to score on the other end,” Redfern said. “That is what turned us around the most and then me just being aggressive on the offensive end.”
Redfern ended the night with 31 points and was named the Most Valuable Player.
“I am happy. I feel like it was a successful day in all three of the events. Even though I didn’t win the 3-point contest or the slam dunk, I was in all of the finals,” Redfern said. “I had a good time and that is all that really matters. At the end of the game, we came out with a win.”
Young ended the night with 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while King had 16 and fellow Mohigan Izzy Everett scored 13.
“It was a joy for those guys to play together,” Tallman said. “They have had a lot of battles over their four-year careers, so I think they really enjoyed that.”
Maxwell led C. Adam Toney with 22 points and seven rebounds, while Pyles had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Gore and Hairston has 12 each.
Shady Spring second team all-state captain Gavin Davis tallied eight points to close out his high school basketball career.
Along with winning a Class AAA state championship back in March, the basketball ride for Davis has been special.
“It was awesome going out there tonight, playing with everybody and just having fun. It felt like the NBA (National Basketball Association). We all got after it and it was an amazing feeling,” Davis said. “I would have never thought in a million years that basketball would go like this. I have told everybody I am a football player. Basketball and baseball, I just play on the side for fun. I would have never imagined all of this success my senior year.”