Tigers, Polar Bears renew state tournament rivalry

Chapmanville coaches, players, support staff and cheerleaders pose for a photo after winning the Class AAA Region IV co-championship last Thursday over Wayne (Photo courtesy of Holly Eldridge/Holly Eldridge Photography).

Bill Lusk | WVOW Sports

CHARLESTON   Two schools very familiar with one another will meet in Tuesday morning’s Class AAA quarterfinals at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.

Fourth-seeded Fairmont Senior and fifth-seeded Chapmanville met three times for the Class AA championship from 2017-2019. A potential fourth state championship meeting in 2020 never happened due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fairmont Senior won the first meeting between the two schools, 59-54, in the 2017 Class AA championship, but Chapmanville won the next two, 69-60, in 2018 for its first ever boys basketball state championship and captured a second straight crown with a 60-46 win over the Polar Bears in the 2019 championship game.

Tuesday morning the two schools meet for the first time as Class AAA schools. The Polar Bears have played for the last three Class AAA championships, winning back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023.

For the first time ever, Chapmanville is in the state tournament as a Class AAA school. The Tigers last played as a AAA school during the 1957-58 school year.

The Tigers were a mainstay in the Class AA state tournament field winning three state championships and made the tournament eight times since their first appearance in 2014.

Tuesday’s appearance will be the ninth all-time in school history and the third straight appearance for the Tigers.

Chapmanville earned a spot in the Class AAA tournament by defeating Wayne, 63-44, in one of two Class AAA Region IV co-finals last Thursday at the Danny Godby Gymnasium.

Fairmont Senior advanced to its 12th consecutive state tournament after defeating Brooke, 73-44, in one of two Region I co-finals last Thursday at Fairmont Senior High School.

The Polar Bears (17-5) are led in scoring by senior Trea Cumberledge, who leads the team with a 22.4 points per game average. Junior Darrell Claybrook averages 12.7 a game and junior Julz Butler checks in averaging 9.4 points per contest.

Fairmont Senior ranks in the top six in points scored and points allowed in Class AAA. The Polar Bears are tied for sixth in point per game, averaging 62.1 points while ranking fourth in points allowed after allowing just 47.7 points a contest.

Chapmanville is one of the highest scoring teams in the state, ranking second in Class AAA, averaging 68.3 points a game.

The Polar Bears will look to slow down the one-two punch of senior Joey Gollihue and freshman Keaton Terry.

Gollihue leads the Tigers in scoring at 19.8 points per contest and Terry is averaging just under 15 a game at 14.9 points per game. Terry is also a menace on the inside cleaning up missing shots and limiting the scoring chances for the opposition.

Chapmanville has three other players averaging double figures in freshman Dakota Dalton (11.6), freshman Jay Brock (10.8) and junior Benji Adkins (10.5).

Off the bench, freshman Colton Brock averages 9.2 points a contest, but is averaging double figures over the last half of the season.

Tuesday’s winner will face the winner of top-seeded Bridgeport and eighth-seeded Elkins at 1:00 p.m. Friday afternoon.