Chapmanville's Sal Dean (0) is defended by Bluefield's Caleb Fuller (4) during the third quarter of the Tigers 74-63 loss to the Beavers at the Par Mar Stores Shootout at West Virginia State University's Walker Convocation Center (Photo by Bill Lusk/WVOW Sports).
Bill Lusk | WVOW Sports
INSTITUTE Behind four double-digit scorers and a 17-0 second half run that erased a 12-point first quarter deficit, Class AA No. 2 Bluefield defeated third-ranked Chapmanville 74-63 on Wednesday night at the Par Mar Stores Shootout at West Virginia State’s Walker Convocation Center.
Bluefield, the reigning Class AA runner up, improved to 11-4 overall and remained unbeaten against Class AA Region 3 competition.
Chapmanville, who had its nine game winning streak snapped, lost for the first time this season against in state competition. The Tigers hadn’t lost since losing to Cincinnati Oak Hills (Ohio), 60-44, in the Carolina Invitational at Charleston, SC on Dec. 29.
The last loss against a West Virginia school came during last year’s Region 3 co-finals at the hands of Bluefield, 51-42, on March 10, 2022, at Chapmanville.
Chapmanville led 17-5 in the first quarter after a Brody Dalton layup with 1:26 remaining and held a two-point advantage, 44-42 with under two minutes to play in the third quarter before Bluefield scored the last nine points of the third and the first eight points of the fourth quarter to take its largest lead of the contest at 59-44.
“I told we had more opportunities to build that lead up in the first quarter, but we didn’t take advantage of it and I thought we lost focus at times,” Chapmanville coach Brad Napier said. “I told the guys in the locker room to play a team or beat a team like that, that you have to be mentally focus the whole entire game.”
“You can’t take a couple of plays off here or there, because five, six or seven points means a lot in a game like that,” Napier said. “What really broke our back was the end of that third quarter. They go on a 7-0 run in about 30 seconds and you just can’t do that. We should have been holding for one shot and not giving them the opportunity to get the ball back.”
The end of the third quarter run that Napier eluded to started with a miss 3-pointer from Sam Miller with 1:04 to play. Bluefield got the rebound raced up court and missed a pair of layups, however, Reginald Hairston rebounded the third miss and converted a layup giving the Beavers a 46-44 lead with 47 seconds left in the period.
Eli Smith missed a 3 with 41 seconds remaining and once more Hairston gathered an offensive rebound and scored to increase the lead to 48-44 with 30 seconds left.
Isaiah Smith missed a 3 with 17 seconds remaining as Bluefield raced up court with the rebound. Will Looney missed a 3 with eight seconds remaining, but for the third straight possession the Beavers came up with the offensive, this time it was Sencere Fields, who found Caleb Fuller for a 3-pointer with three seconds left in the quarter giving the Beavers a 51-44 lead.
Fuller, one of four Bluefield players to finish with 13 points or more, led the Beavers with 18 points on 6 of 11 shooting from the field and was 3 of 5 from 3, including a pair of 3-pointers that beat the buzzer. His first quarter 3 at the buzzer brought Bluefield to within seven, 19-12, and his third quarter 3 with three seconds left gave the Beavers a seven-point advantage.
“I see the clock running down, look for the ball and hope it goes in,” Fuller said.
Sal Dean ended the Beavers 17-0 run with a pair of free throws with 5:15 remaining in the fourth. Dean’s free throws would be the start of an 11-2 run by Chapmanville over the next 1:45 that saw the Tigers cut a 15-point deficit down to six on Zion Blevins layup with 3:30 remaining.
Chapmanville never got closer than seven points the rest of the way as Bluefield kept its composure and closed the game on a 13-8 run.
Bluefield, who started the season 5-0 but lost three of its next four games, has won five of its last six games heading into Friday’s showdown at Class A No. 1 James Monroe. The Mavericks defeated the Beavers 55-50 at the Brushfork Armory on Jan. 20.
“They are a good team, they are ranked number one in single A for a reason,” Fuller said. “(They’re) probably one of the best teams in the state really. We know they are good, and we will have to come ready (to play).”
Looney finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Fields scored 16 points, including eight in the third quarter and Kam’Ron Gore had 13 points for the Beavers.
Chapmanville hit 60% (9 for 15) of its shots in the first quarter, but only made 35.4% (17 for 48) over the next three quarters.
The Tigers led 29-20 following a Blevins layup with 2:44 to play before halftime, however, the Beavers closed the half on a 9-2 run and drew to within two points, 31-29, at the end of the first half.
“Our percentages weren’t good enough, especially in the second and fourth quarters,” Napier said.
Blevins posted a double-double for Chapmanville finishing with 21 points and 16 rebounds. Dean finished with 20 points, seven assists and seven rebounds while Smith finished with nine points.
“I thought Zion (Blevins) played well at times, but he missed some easy ones, and he could have very easily had 35,” Napier said. “He missed some bunnies that he doesn’t normally miss and he done a good job on the boards.”
“Sal (Dean) was upset and didn’t think he played well,” Napier said. “He didn’t shoot the ball extremely well, but I thought his all-around game was pretty strong tonight. He was pushing a triple-double and I thought he did a good job all around.”
Dalton finished with six points, all of which came in the first half, before leaving the game with an ankle injury late in the first half. Dalton’s status for Chapmanville’s next game at Logan Friday night is uncertain.
“It is the same ankle that he has had problems with the last month or so,” Napier said. “He is getting it x-rayed to make sure nothing is broke, but we got to keep playing and hopefully Brody is ready in a couple of weeks and it is nothing too serious.”
Chapmanville, who is 14-2 on the year, will look to take a step towards clinching the Cardinal Conference when its visits Logan Friday night. The Tigers defeated the Wildcats, 70-64, in overtime on Jan. 13.
“Our next couple of games are going to be really tough, going into hostile environments in Logan and Scott,” Napier said. “We are going to see what we are made of, and we are down a man so some young guys are going to have to step up and I think somebody will.”
Bluefield 74, Chapmanville 63
Bluefield (11-4)
Looney 7-12 2-2 17, Hairston 4-10 0-3 8, Fields 5-8 4-6 16, Fuller 6-11 3-5 18,
Gore 5-9 0-0 13, Fong 0-1 2-2 2, Keene 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 27-52 11-18 74.
Chapmanville (14-2)
Blevins 9-19 3-4 21, Dalton 3-8 0-0 6, Dean 7-19 4-4 20, Workman 1-5 0-0 2,
Smith, I. 4-8 0-0 9, Miller 2-4 0-0 5, Smith, E. 0-1 0-0 0, Adkins 0-0 0-2 0.
Totals: 26-64 7-10 63.
Bluefield 12 17 22 23- 74
Chapmanville 19 12 13 19- 63
3-Point Field Goals_Bluefield 9-18 (Looney 1-2, Hairston 0-1, Fields 2-3, Fuller 3-5, Gore 3-6, Keene 0-1), Chapmanville 4-18 (Dalton 0-1, Dean 2-6, Workman 0-4, Smith, I. 1-3, Miller 1-3, Smith, E. 0-1). Fouled Out_Gore. Rebounds_Bluefield 35 (Hairston 9), Chapmanville 33 (Blevins 16). Assists_Bluefield 6 (Looney 3), Chapmanville 11 (Dean 7). Total Fouls_Bluefield 12, Chapmanville 16. Technicals_None.