RICHWOOD – The Greenbrier West Cavaliers opened the 2025-26 season with a resounding 74-40 win over longtime rival Richwood Tuesday night. In the process of winning the season opener for both squads, the Cavaliers became the first team to win in the Lumberjacks’ brand spanking new gymnasium. Richwood had called the off-campus Little Red Gym home from the 2016-17 season through last year following the devastating floods that swept through Richwood High School in the summer of 2016.
Senior Cavalier center Colton Dunbar broke the seal on the new rims with a pair of free-throws that opened the scoring, becoming the first player to score in Richwood’s new arena. The host Lumberjacks responded with a pair of baskets that gave them the only lead they had all night at 4-2. Senior point guard Kamden Sams drilled a three from the corner to reclaim the lead, and West never looked back. A frenetic pace ensued as the team’s traded possessions before Greenbrier West’s pressing defense started creating turnovers that led to transition buckets.
Dunbar led the frame with six points, and the Cavaliers got scoring from seven different players in building a 23-9 advantage. Brock Ward’s four points paced the Lumberjacks.
Greenbrier West extended its lead in the second period behind a six-point effort from Dunbar. Sams added five points. Jesse Walkup, a junior forward, collected all five of his points in the quarter as the Cavaliers outscored Richwood 20-12. The Lumberjacks’ scoring came mainly from the charity stripe, as four different players combined to go 7-10. West took a commanding 43-21 lead into the halftime break.
In the third quarter, Dunbar owned the lane again and poured in seven points. Ward countered with seven points on the strength of two three pointers for Richwood. Lumberjack senior Ian Crowder chipped in with five points, but the Richwood duo were the only players to get in the scoring column. Carter Vandall drained a corner three pointer for the Cavaliers with an assist from Shane Plogger. Greenbrier West’s lead was 61-33 after three quarters.
Dunbar added four points in the fourth quarter to pace all scorers with 23 points. Sams added a layup to cap a 12-point performance. Ben McDaniel tallied six points in the final frame to give him 11 points, tying his career high which he set in last year’s season opener at Meadow Bridge. Vandall, Walkup, Isaac Crane, and Colton Nutter each chipped in with five points. Plogger had a four-point effort, and Logan Berry ended the night with two points.
Ward led the Lumberjacks with 14 points and Crowder added 12 points. Parker Giles scored five points, Shiyan Gu four, Preston Boyce three, and Grady Hall two.
Greenbrier West (1-0) hosts Hedgesville Saturday evening at 4:30 in the team’s home opener. JV action begins at 3 P.M. Richwood (0-1) heads to Summers County on Tuesday, December 16.
Colton wasn’t the only successful Dunbar on the evening. Tina Dunbar, Colton’s mother and an assistant coach on the Greenbrier West staff, led the junior varsity squad to a 64-18 victory prior to varsity action. Andrew Rodes scored a team-high 16 points. Ayden Baker, Ben Butler, and Peyton Vaughan each contributed seven points apiece. Incidentally, it was Baker who scored the very first bucket in the gym, albeit in JV action. Karsten Burns and Elijah McDaniel each added six points in the win.
