BECKLEY – Class A #9 Man High School defeated Greenbrier West 61-54 Thursday afternoon in the New River CTC Invitational at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center. With the win, the Hillbillies improve to 7-0 on the season while Greenbrier West falls to 5-4. It was the fourth consecutive loss for the Cavaliers after a 5-0 start.
Kamden Sams walked in the door firing three-pointers, hitting 1-6 in the first quarter. Colton Dunbar scored four points in the frame, and Logan Berry and Jess Walkup each notched a bucket for the Cavaliers. Man’s sophomore guard Grayson Sanders countered with five first quarter points while Connor Booth came off the bench to collect four points. 6’11” junior Moses Hicks added a ‘Billie basket as the two teams were knotted up at eleven each at the conclusion of the quarter. The two teams locked up four times in a tightly contested opening frame.
The second quarter would see the two squads trade the lead four times, with Man dealing a dagger just before the halftime buzzer. Connor Booth stepped to his right to let a defender clear out and nailed a three-pointer just before the buzzer to give the Hillbillies a 26-24 halftime advantage. The lead-changing shot gave Booth five points in the second quarter and led a balanced effort from Man. Sanders added four points as did Moses Hicks, helping to hold the Cavaliers at bay. Shane Plogger got in the scoring column with a five-point quarter of his own. Isaac Crane and Jesse Walkup added clutch three-pointers for the Cavaliers, but the buzzer beating shot by Booth was the difference in the first half. The ‘Billies led 26-24 at the break.
Man began to distance themselves from the Cavalier in the second half. The Hillbillies shot a sizzling 7-9 from the floor, 78%. Booth with 3-3 and tallied six points while junior guard Noah Frazier added four more on 2-2 shooting. Blake Hicks and Alex Martin each sunk their lone shot attempts while Sanders added a basket on 1-3 shooting. The Cavalier shooting was considerably cooler, with West hitting on 3-11 shots for 27% efficiency. Sams had five of the Cavaliers’ 12 points, Plogger added four, and Colton Dunbar chipped in with three points from the foul line. Man led 43-36 after three quarters and had built an 11-point advantage at two different points.
Showing resolve, the Cavaliers forced turnovers and fought back with transition buckets. West forced the ‘Billies into 22 turnovers on the afternoon, but the Cavaliers could only cut the lead to one at 50-49 on a Plogger layup with 3:35 left in the game. Booth answered with a layup of his own for his 17th point of the night to ignite a 5-0 run for the Hillbillies. The sophomore forward would end the night with a game-high 18 points. Dunbar got the Cavaliers back on the board at the 1:33 mark. Alex Martin responded with a turn-around jumper on the other end and Man led 57-51 with 1:11 to go.
Trailing 58-51, junior forward Isaac Crane sank a three-pointer from the left wing to draw West to within 58-54 with 40.4 remaining. Following a Cavalier timeout, the ‘Billies knocked down a free throw to lead 59-54. Carter Vandall managed a turnaround jumper from the baseline with 11 seconds remaining. Vandall pulled down the rebound of his own miss and tried to stick the ball back in but contact with the Man defenders was not called a foul and the Hillbillies ran it out for a last second dunk and a 61-54 win.
The only other meeting between the two schools on the hardwood occurred back on January 29, 2009, in the Mountain State Coal Classic, also at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center. The schools matched up in the Class A Championship game of that event with the Cavaliers winning 57-54. Nate Brackenridge had a 13-point, 12-rebound, 5-block night. Travis Withrow tallied a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Sams and Dunbar led the Cavaliers with 14 each while Plogger added 13 points. Crane added six points, Walkup five, and Logan Berry two. Sams led West rebounders with six while Dunbar and Vandall each pulled down four boards.
Booth led all scorers with 18 points and tallied 10 rebounds. Moses Hicks scored 14 and collected 12 rebounds. Sanders added 15 points; Martin and Frazier each had six points, and Blake Hicks closed it out with two points.
Greenbrier West 5-4 heads back to the Armory today (Friday) to face the 6-1 Sherman Tide at 4:30 P.M. Man hosts Independence next Wednesday night.
