INSTITUTE, W.Va. — The lead changed hands 17 times here Wednesday morning — four of those coming in the last minute.
The Greenbrier West-Williamstown showdown at the Par Mar Stores Shootout was an instant classic.
Kaiden Pack sank the game-winner with 15 seconds left and then stole a pass in the final seconds, lifting West to a huge 67-66 win over Williamstown, the No. 1 Class AA team in the state of West Virginia, at West Virginia State University.
Brandon Oscar was 6-for-10 from the floor and scored a team-high 19 points to lead the Cavaliers (2-1), while Pack had 14 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and two steals.
“I would say this is our biggest regular-season win in a long time,” said West coach Jared Robertson.
Chase Boggs added 13 points and three steals for the winners, while Lawson Vaughan chipped in 10 points.
Williamstown (4-1) was led by Sam Cremeans, who scored a game-high 33 points, and Xavier Caruthers, who added 13.
Pack was held scoreless in the first half by Williamstown box-and-1 defense, but made several big plays down the stretch.
“They played a box-and-1 on him I would say for three-fourths of the game,” Robertson said. “He forced it a couple times. But we had a couple of other kids start making shots. We kind of got in a rhythm. We’ve got other kids that can score. It kind of surprised me when they got out of it and started playing us man. They struggled to guard him 1-on-1 in straight man.”
Oscar hit a big three-ball in the final quarter and Evan McDade hit a key jumper inside the lane in the final minute.
The win was the first for the Cavaliers over a No. 1 ranked team since 1992 when West won the state championship.
Ironically, Robertson was a player on that team, and the Cavs defeated Williamstown that same year in the first round of the state tournament.
The Yellow Jackets point guard in ‘92 — their current head coach Scott Sauro.
“We guarded each other in that game,” Robertson said with a laugh. “We both got out of school, started coaching and became friends through that. We sit at the state tournament every year and hang out and talk. We always talked about playing, but it was a (long) trip. When they started doing this shootout thing a few years ago in Charleston, he called me and said, ‘Why don’t we play in this?’ We started playing several years in a row and I think we are going to play next year too.”
Robertson, who is also West’s athletic director, has put together a challenging schedule for his team.
All three opponents so far have been ranked.
The Cavaliers (2-1) will go to Tug Valley, ranked No. 2 in Class A, Friday night to try and avenge an opening night 75-73 home loss.
“We did try to add several games that would be top-notch competition,” Robertson said of his tough slate. “Tug Valley contacted us and said, ‘We’re both going to be top five in the state, state championship contenders, we want to play.’ It was kind of hard to say no to that when he put it that way even though I’m dreading the three-hour drive.”
Greenbrier West’s scheduled Saturday home game against East Hardy in the West Virginia Hometown Invitational Tournament has been canceled due to Hardy County being a red county on the COVID-19 map.
The Cavaliers will play for the HIT championship on April 10 against either Tolsia or South Harrison.
West is back home on Monday night for a match-up with James Monroe, the No. 9 team in Class A.
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