CHARMCO (WVDN) – Greenbrier West overcame a 12-point, fourth-quarter deficit Friday night to defeat Washington High School 71-66 in overtime. Braydon McClung led all scorers with 24 points, setting a career-high by knocking down 12 free throws in the win. McClung also secured 10 rebounds including nine on the defensive end.
Dale Boone kept the Cavaliers in the game early, as Washington jumped out to a 19-14 first-quarter lead. Boone sank three, corner 3-pointers in the period. Boone’s first 3 was the Cavaliers’ first field goal. The second triple gave West a 7-5 lead. Washington answered with a brief 7-0 run to move the lead to 12-7. The run was interrupted by Tanner Hagy’s baseline jumper, but Patriot junior Meleke Smith responded with a midrange basket to keep Washington out front 14-9. Out of a West time-out, Boone slipped into the left corner and drained his third 3-pointer of the quarter, drawing West close at 14-12. Smith, though, answered with a 3, and Washington senior guard Chance Zimmerman made a nifty one-handed runner just before the buzzer. The Patriots would lead by 5 at the end of a quarter.
Washington’s 6-foot-7 center George Welti would get them started in the second quarter with a point-blank lay-in. Zimmerman then converted a steal into a layup for an 8-point Patriot lead. Welti extended the advantage to 10 when he outrebounded both Cavaliers and Patriot teammates and kissed the ball off the glass. Freshman Kris Doleman then hit a reverse layup, swelling the Patriot lead to 12 points.
McClung then began to chip away at Washington’s run with a pair of made free throws. Both squads traded empty possessions, before McClung sank another free throw. A lane violation was all that kept the Cavaliers from cutting the deficit to 10. Undeterred, McClung stole a Patriot pass on the next possession and converted the layup, making the score 29-20 Washington. After a Patriot basket, Boone contributed to the rally with a steal and layup of his own. Freshman Lesdial Machado would have the last laugh, though, knocking down a straightaway 3 to give Washington a 34-22 halftime lead.
Greenbrier West’s deficit grew into its largest margin of the game early in the third quarter. Following back-to-back Cavalier turnovers, Doleman slashed to the basket for a layup, and Welti laid a short jumper off the glass for a 38-22 Washington lead. The rally again began with McClung free throws. McClung knocked down a pair, grabbed a defensive rebound and sunk two more, cutting the lead to 12.
The comeback grew legs after a Kadin Parker rebound ignited a fast break that culminated with a Boone double-pump layup. Kanode blocked Zimmerman on the next possession, and McClung fired the rebound to Tanner Hagy who laid the ball in to make it 38-30 Washington. Kanode blocked Zimmerman on the ensuing possession, but the Cavaliers couldn’t convert the stuff into points.
A pair of Patriot free throws built the lead back to 10, but Kanode immediately shaved it down to 7 with a traditional 3-point play. Zimmerman answered with a spot-up 3, but Kanode countered with a near mirror image of his previous layup. Doleman boosted the Washington lead back to 11 with a 3-pointer from the corner. Patriot head coach Trent Hilliard called a timeout following Doleman’s trey with 3:33 left in the third quarter.
The Cavaliers struggled to dent the Patriot lead with Washington seemingly able to answer every West score with a bucket of their own. Chris Davis made a nice spin move from the post for a layup, but Zimmerman responded with a layup off his own miss. Matthew Thomas’ jump-hook was followed by a Josh McCarthy free throw. Washington led 51-41 at the end of the third quarter.
The Cavaliers were down by as many as 14 points in the second quarter, 16 in the third and 12 with 6:11 remaining in the fourth. The Class AAAA Patriots had withstood every Cavalier rally to that point. The advantage would shrink from there. Kanode went 1-2 from the foul line on successive possessions, then sank both ends of a one-and-one, cutting the lead to 8. After a Welti free throw, McClung rebounded his second attempt and went coast-to-coast, scoring on a Euro-step layup. The Cavalier defense pressured Washington into a turnover. Thomas finally broke West through the 7-to-8 point deficit that they seemingly could not overcome. Thomas’ corner 3-pointer at the 4-minute mark fired up the West faithful.
Fueled by adrenaline and the emotion of the home crowd, the rally had real life. McClung sliced down the lane for a layup, and West trailed 56-54. McClung then stole a McCarthy pass and tied the game on a drive to the basket. With 2:39 remaining in regulation, it was game on!
Zimmerman turned the ball over giving West an opportunity to take their first lead since the first quarter. Kanode sank the front end of a two-shot foul to grab the lead at the 2:21 mark. Two close-range misses for Washington were followed by two Welti misses from the foul line. After the Cavaliers were unable to convert on their end, McCarthy gave the Patriots the lead with a 10-foot jumper. Kanode answered with layup putting West back up by 1. A partially blocked shot and a miss by McCarthy set Kanode up at the foul line. Kanode hit the front end but missed the second, giving West a 60-58 lead with 57 seconds remaining. Kanode rebounded his second miss and the Cavaliers kept possession of the ball.
With 50 ticks left on the clock, McClung was fouled. McClung’s first attempt faltered, but he hit the second for a 3-point Cavalier lead. Undaunted, the Patriots worked their offense until they found Zimmerman open for 3. The senior guard tied the game at 61 with 19 seconds left in regulation. After a time-out, West inbounded and got the ball to halfcourt before calling their own time-out with 10 seconds left. From a half-court set, McClung spun off the right side and drove the lane. His layup hit the back of the iron and ricocheted to the left. McClung got his own rebound and attempted a putback, but it was too strong. Kanode rebounded and tried to get a shot off as the buzzer sounded.
As the overtime period started, Kanode won the tip, and Parker hit a runner to give West the lead. McClung stole Smith’s pass leading to a Boone-assisted Kanode basket. A McClung rebound led to yet another coast-to-coast basket, and the Cavaliers had all the points they’d need. Smith kept Washington close with a pair of free throws, but Kanode answered with a beautiful up-and-under move for a 69-63 lead. Zimmerman lofted a running one-hander off the glass to reduce the lead to 4. Terefe Butera would add a foul shot for Washington, but after two missed 3s, the Patriots’ night would end in defeat.
Kanode poured in 17 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and blocked four shots. Boone added 14 points and six rebounds. West improved to 3-7 with the win.
WHS: 19 15 17 10 5 – 66
GW: 14 8 19 20 10 – 71
Washington – Chance Zimmerman 21, Kris Doleman 9, Maleke Smith 9, George Welti 9, Josh McCarty 9, Trenton Burch 3, Lesdiel Muchado 3, Michael Duval 2, Cyrus Butera 1. Totals: 26 7-13 66.
Greenbrier West – Braydon McClung 24, Michael Kanode 17, Dale Boone 14, Tanner Hagy 4, Kadin Parker 2, Matthew Thomas 5, Chris Davis 2, Asher Barclay 2. Totals: 23 21-34 71.
3-pointers – WHS: 7 (Zimmerman 3, Doleman, Smith, Burch, Muchado); GW: 4 (Boone 3, Thomas).
