Bill Lusk | WVOW Sports
CHAPMANVILLE Zion Blevins scored 15 his 27 points in the second half and Isaiah Smith scored 12 of his 20 points in the first half to lead Class AA No. 3 Chapmanville to a 69-58 victory over Nitro Saturday night at the Danny Godby Gymnasium.
Blevins scored 11 in the fourth quarter and was a perfect 7 of 7 from the foul line to help Chapmanville stave off a late Nitro rally.
The Tigers led 61-44 with 4:21 to play before Nitro’s Scoot Woodrum scored seven of his 10 fourth quarter points during a 14-2 Wildcats run that trimmed a 17-point deficit to five points, 63-58, following Landon Poniatowski’s basket with 1:06 to play.
Blevins and Smith then knocked down six free throws in the final minute to help Chapmanville remain unbeaten in the Cardinal Conference (6-0) and unbeaten against West Virginia competition this season.
The last West Virginia team to beat Chapmanville was Bluefield, who the Tigers will face Tuesday afternoon at 6 p.m. in the Par Mar Shootout at the Big House at the Walker Convocation Center on the campus of West Virginia State University.
Bluefield ended Chapmanville’s bid of a sixth straight state tournament appearance last March when the Beavers defeated the Tigers 51-42 in the Class AA Region 3 co-finals at Danny Godby Gymnasium.
Woodrum led Nitro with 16 points while Ashton Crouch scored eight of his 14 points in the first quarter to help the Wildcats to a 17-11 lead after one quarter of play.
Chapmanville led Nitro 9-6 early in the first quarter, but the Wildcats closed the first quarter on a 11-2 run.
Chapmanville used a late 8-2 run late in the final two minutes of the second quarter to put a little separation on the scoreboard and take a 34-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Tigers stretched their lead to 11 points, 48-37, after three quarters of play and led by as many as 17 in the fourth quarter before holding off a late Nitro rally.
Derek Lowe finished with 12 points and Poniatowski 10 for Nitro, who fell to 8-7 overall and 4-5 in the Cardinal Conference.
Sal Dean posted a double-double finishing with 12 points and 13 rebounds for Chapmanville, who improved to 13-1 overall with the victory.
Chapmanville 69, Nitro 58
Nitro (8-8)
Poniatowski 4 2-3 10, Lowe 5 0-0 12, Crouch 7 0-0 14, Stephens 2 1-3 6, Woodrum 7 0-0 16. Totals: 25 3-6 58.
Chapmanville (13-1)
Dean 5 0-0 12, Blevins 9 9-9 27, Workman 1 0-0 3, Smith, I. 7 3-4 20, Dalton 1 3-5 5, Smith, E. 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 15-18 69.
Nitro 17 11 9 21- 58
Chapmanville 11 23 14 21-69
3-Point Field Goals_Nitro 5 (Lowe 2, Stephens, Woodrum 2), Chapmanville 6 (Dean 2, Workman, Smith, I. 3).