Bill Lusk | WVOW Sports
CHAPMANVILLE, WVa Class AA No. 7 Chapmanville is headed to the regional co-finals after its seventh consecutive sectional championship Friday night with a 78-46 win over Liberty (Raleigh) in the Class AA Region 3 Section 2 championship at Danny Godby Gymnasium. Following third-seeded Liberty’s 45-41 upset of second-seeded Mingo Central Tuesday night, Chapmanville coach Brad Napier stressed the importance of a quick start in practice and again before tipoff of Friday’s game. The top-seeded Tigers used a 28-9 run spanning the final 4:08 of the first quarter and the entire second quarter to establish momentum and jump out to a 38-17 halftime lead. The lead would balloon to as much as 34 points in the second half as Chapmanville put the finishing touches on a seventh straight sectional championship. “We came out fast, started pretty fast, and we talked about that before the game, talked about that in practice about getting a good start,” Napier said. “I think we did that, jumped on them early and I think our pressure bothered them a lot early.” Chapmanville scored 16 points off 17 Liberty (Raleigh) turnovers and shot 54 percent from the field. “It all started with defense and getting some early easy baskets just gets you a flow,” Napier said. “I thought we played pretty good offensively, we shot the ball well, and when you are playing good on defense the offense flows better.” Isaiah Smith and Devin Workman combined to knock down six of Chapmanville’s 12 3-pointers as the Tigers connected on 12 of 26 attempts from 3-point range. “We have been streaky with our 3-point shooting all season, and we shot it really well the first two or three games of the season,” Napier said. “We had a little bit of a lull, and we had a couple of games sprinkled in here or there where we hit eight, 10 or 12.” Four of five Chapmanville starters scored in double figures led by Zion Blevins with 13 points. Smith and Workman each had 11 and Isaac Butcher 10 for the Tigers. Colton Craddock just missed double figures finishing with eight points. Butcher, starting in place of the injured Brody Dalton, hauled down eight rebounds, had three steals, and dished out two assists. “I thought he was good, and he did the things that he was good at,” Napier said. “He rebounded the ball, he played with a lot of energy and effort, got a lot of garbage baskets, and that is what he does.” Chapmanville got production from its bench as they outscored Liberty 25-5 in bench points. Sam Leslie had nine, Drew Berry eight, Sam Miller six and Landon Tomblin two points off the bench. “Our bench guys stepped up and they have been playing well in practice the last couple of weeks,” Napier said. “We played some of those guys early tonight and played them a lot more than what they are accustomed to playing, but they earned that right with the way they have played in practice the last couple of weeks.” Adam Drennen had 12 points while Resean Simms and Ethan Williams each had eight for Liberty (Raleigh). The Raiders (9-12) shot 19 of 41 from the field and were 2 of 6 from 3-point range. Liberty (Raleigh) will travel to No. 8 Wyoming East in one of two Class AA Region 3 co-finals on Thursday. Chapmanville hopes to have Dalton back Thursday for its regional contest against Bluefield at “That would be big if we do,” Napier said. “In the last month it has been a whole group effort, and everybody has stepped up.” Bluefield, ranked third in Class AA, was upset by Wyoming East in the Class AA Region 3 Section 2 finals Tuesday night. The Beavers (18-5) have been ranked near the top of Class AA all season and will present a challenge to the Tigers quest for a seventh consecutive state tournament berth. “Bluefield is an experience team and they went to the semifinals of the state tournament last season,” Napier said. “They pretty much got their whole team back, so those guys have been there, and they know how to play in pressure situations in big games.” Chapmanville has played a lot of tough competition this season and Thursday night will be no different. The Tigers, who improved to 13-10 with Friday’s victory, will be ready for the Beavers and appear to be peaking at the right time. “I think we have played really well in the last six or seven games and about the last month of the season we have started playing at a really high level,” Napier said. “There has been a lot of tough nights and battles night in and night out, and a lot of them have been on the road in hostile environments.” “I think we are prepared as we possibly can be,” Napier said. “We have played the toughest schedule in the state regardless of class, and I don’t care what anybody says, nobody has played a schedule like us.”
At Danny Godby Gymnasium Class AA Region 3 Section 2 Championship Chapmanville 78, Liberty (Raleigh) 46
Liberty (Raleigh) (9-13) Adam Drennen 6-9 0-4 12, Resean Simms 4-8 0-0 8, Ethan Williams 3-5 0-0 8, Adam McGhee 1-6 5-8 7, Zach Bowman 3-8 0-2 6, Conner Cantley 2-5 1-2 5. Totals: 19-41 6-16 46.
Chapmanville (13-10) Zion Blevins 3-6 6-6 13, Devin Workman 4-8 0-0 11, Isaiah Smith 4-8 0-0 11, Isaac Butcher 4-4 2-2 10, Sam Leslie 3-6 2-3 9, Colton Craddock 4-5 0-3 8, Drew Berry 3-9 0-0 8, Sam Miller 2-3 0-0 6, Landon Tomblin 1-1 0-0 2, Jett Baisden 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 28-51 10-14 78.
Liberty (Raleigh) 12 5 11 18- 46 Chapmanville 24 14 16 24- 78 3-point field goals- Liberty 2-6 (Williams 2-4, Bowman 0-2), Chapmanville 12-26 (Blevins 1-2, Workman 3-5, Smith 3-6, Leslie 1-3, Berry 2-6, Miller 2-3, Baisden 0-1). Rebounds- Liberty 22 (McGhee 7), Chapmanville 21 (Butcher 8). Assists- Liberty 5 (Drennen 2, McGhee 2), Chapmanville 15 (Craddock 3, Workman 3). Total fouls- Liberty 12, Chapmanville 16. Fouled out- Butcher. Technicals- None.