CHARMCO – The Greenbrier West Cavaliers have certainly tasted their share of success in the annual West Virginia Hometown Invitational tournament. Greenbrier West rolled to their first WVHIT championship in 2019 with a resounding win over #8 Tolsia. They followed that up with a 2021 championship over Class AA South Harrison in front of a raucous Hawks crowd. Neither win had anything on the drama that unfolded in Charmco last night in pod play.
Greenbrier West, the three seed in Division 1, was facing a must-win situation after losing their Pod B opener to Tygarts Valley on January 22. With a win, the Cavaliers could still qualify for the third-place game at South Harrison on February 12. Standing in their way were the Clay-Battelle Cee Bees. Clay-Battelle entered the game with a modest 5-3 record. The Cee Bees season had been interrupted for two weeks by Monogalia County COVID protocols after a January 11 win over Wood County Christian. In their only game since the quarantine, Clay-Battelle had dropped a 61-45 decision to Tyler Consolidated this past Saturday.
Michael Kanode controlled the tip for the Cavaliers and quickly converted a three-point play for a 3-0 lead only four seconds into the game. Kohlton StClair answered with a three-pointer for the Cee Bees. Sloppy play from both teams followed as each team took turns turning the ball over before Clay-Battelle grabbed some early momentum. StClair would heat up and add two more first quarter threes to stake the Cee Bees out to a 9-5 lead. Greenbrier West, on the other hand, couldn’t buy a three-pointer going 0-6 in the opening quarter. What they could do was create turnovers, and that led to scoring opportunities. Greenbrier West led 14-11 at the end of the first quarter.
Sloppy play continued for both sides in the second quarter. Chase McClung pushed the Cavalier lead to five with a lay-in created by the West pressure, but the Cee Bees would fight back to tie the game at 16 on Drew Boczek’s layup with 5:44 left in the first half. The score would knot up again at 18 before the Cavaliers closed the half on a 9-2 run. McClung got the run started with an up-and-under layup and followed that up with a fast-break stop-and-pop jumper that drew a foul but McClung was unable to convert. Chris Davis sank the front end of a one-and-one situation then got an easy look at a follow-up basket when McClung found him alone on the backside of a no-look pass. The baskets would seemingly be covered with lids with three minutes left in the half. All either team could muster offensively were a pair of free throws giving the Cavaliers a 27-20 halftime advantage.
The Cee Bees shook off the jet lag of a three-hour road trip in the third quarter. Colby Barr, held to a single free throw in the first half, knocked down four baskets while senior Michael Payton, scoreless in the first half, tallied eight points on a three-point play, a three-pointer, and a short Clay-Battelle forward Jonathan Arnett added a three from the left side. Kadin Parker, usually content to dish to his teammates, got aggressive and started to pick his spots to take timely shots. A Parker layup got the Cavaliers started and a 15-footer from the right elbow kept the West lead at five. The Cee Bees battled back to tie the game at both 34 and 36 before taking a 38-36 lead that lead to a Cavalier time out.
Chase McClung tied things up with a one-handed runner in the lane but Payton responded by drilling a three. Brayden McClung, who lead all scorers with 18 points, slipped through the Cee Bee defense for a layup that cut Clay-Battelle’s brief lead to one with under a minute left in the quarter. The Cavaliers would turn it over on their next possession, but a quick three attempt from Boczek was too strong. Parker took the rebound on the run and dished off to Dale Boone who sliced his way to the basket to retake the lead for West with 17 seconds remaining. The Cee Bees settled for a long Boczek three-point attempt to end the quarter down 42-41.
Barr started the fourth quarter with a free throw to tie the game at 42. Parker reclaimed the Cavalier lead with two foul shots of his own after a dribble-drive failed to produce a basket. Barr put the Cee Bees back in front when he flashed out of the lane and nailed a three-pointer as he was falling away in the corner. Parker answered with a drive inside the lane but this time swung a sharp pass out to Boone who swished the Cavaliers’ first three-pointer of the night. Greenbrier West had shot an abysmal 0-10 from three-point range before Boone’s make. Parker ignited another fast break that lead to a Kanode layup. Clay-Battelle junior Carson Shriver countered with a contested layup as both teams kept delivering blows.
A Cavalier turnover turned into a Boczek three-pointer that gave the Cee Bees a 50-49 lead. Chase McClung misfired on a three-ball, and Clay-Battelle big man Preston Luzader dumped in a shot at the rim for a three-point lead. After Kanode failed to convert the front end of a one-and-one, Brayden McClung made one of the best plays of the night. Facing StClair near the midcourt circle, McClung extended his left arm to cleanly swipe a pass attempt. McClung broke down the left side of the lane with StClair hot on his heels. McClung rolled the ball high off the glass as he was fouled in frustration by StClair, launching the Cavalier Crazies to their feet. Brayden missed the free throw but older brother Chase swooped in for the rebound and drew a foul on his shot attempt. Chase knocked down both foul shots to give West a 53-52 lead with just over three minutes left in the game.
After both teams squandered a possession each, Chase and Brayden connected to extend the Cavalier lead. Chase took a rebound and pushed the ball down the left sideline and into the lane. As Clay-Battelle converged, Chase dumped the pass off to Brayden on the right-side for a layup and a three-point lead. Barr would score his final basket of the night on a put-back to draw the Cee Bees within one. On the ensuing possession, Chase McClung passed up a corner three to drive into the lane, floating a one-handed runner on his way. The shot would be short but the rebound would ricochet back to McClung who kicked the ball out to Parker. Parker calmly drilled a step-back three to build the lead back to four points.
Luzader cut the lead in half with a layup, but Brayden McClung ripped a three-pointer from the left wing with 1:03 remaining for a five point advantage, 61-56. The Cee Bees weren’t through fighting as StClair knocked down a corner three with 33.5 seconds remaining. Chase McClung would add the front end of a one-and one for a 62-59 lead before the final flurry of the night. With 7.9 seconds remaining, Clay-Battelle head coach Josh Kisner called timeout to draw up his play. From the corner, Shriver inbounded to Payton who had broken out of the set to the far three-point line. Payton’s delivery was automatic and the rotating basketball arched through the John C. Estep Gymnasium sky. The shot was accurate and hit the cylinder, rolling sharply one time before kicking out of the basket. Barr rebounded from the left side but instead of kicking it out to a teammate for another game-tying three attempt, laid it up with three seconds on a running clock. Parker calmly stepped out of bounds for an inbound he’d not attempt. The clock struck zero and the Cavaliers had scraped their way to a 62-61 win.
With the win, the Cavaliers must now wait on Clay-Battelle to host Tygarts Valley on February 5 to find out their positioning for the West Virginia HIT finals weekend. Should Tygarts Valley win, the Cavaliers will play for third place. With a Clay-Battelle win, West could fall to the fifth-place game. The Cavaliers have no time to dwell on their WVHIT fate with Class A #1 James Monroe coming to Charmco Tuesday night. The Cavaliers dropped an 84-56 decision earlier this season to the Mavericks at Lindside. Clay-Battelle returns home to host Doddridge County Tuesday night.
With his big momentum-shifting three-pointer, Kadin Parker was named the Oldies 93,WKCJ, Rick Allen Nationwide Insurance Player of the Game. Parker finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.
Clay-Battelle (5-4) 11 9 21 20 – 61
Greenbrier West (9-4) 14 13 15 20 – 62
Clay-Battelle – Colby Barr 17, Kohlton St. Clair 14, Carson Shriver 8, Michael Payton 8, Preston Luzader 6, Drew Boczek 5, Johnathan Arnett 3. Totals: 23 (7-15) 61.
Greenbrier West – Brayden McClung 18, Chase McClung 13, Kadin Parker 9, Michael Kanode 7, Elijah Perkins 7, Dale Boone 5, Chris Davis 3. Totals: 22 (15-28) 62.
3-pointer – CB: 7 (St. Clair 4, Payton, Boczek, Barr); GW: 2 (Parker, Boone)
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.