LINDSIDE (WVDN) – Fairy tales don’t always have happy endings. Sometimes, the glass slipper just doesn’t fit. The Cinderella Cavaliers had the magic last April when they upended the 17-1 James Monroe Mavericks to advance to their second state tournament appearance in three years. Facing the same scenario Wednesday night, the Cavaliers came up short losing 72-52 to end their season in the Region III Co-final.
The game got off to a sluggish start if you’re a fan of up-and-down basketball. The Mavericks were fighting nerves and a steely Cavalier defensive effort. Greenbrier West head coach Jared Robertson had devised a gameplan that would maximize the Cavaliers’ effort to grab defensive rebounds and limit the Mavericks to one shot. Offensively, West calmly moved the ball up the floor to limit the number of offensive possessions James Monroe would have by chewing up a little bit of clock. Early on, everything was falling into place as the Mavericks failed to knock down a shot from the field. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, they were not able to counter with made shots of their own.
With 2:05 remaining in the opening quarter, Greenbrier West only trailed 6-5. Michael Kanode was keeping the Cavaliers in the game with five free throws. Cold shooting from the floor cooled the Cavalier effort, though, and James Monroe started to find their bearings. West went 1-10 from the floor as Ty Nickell made the only Cavalier field goal of the quarter, a sharp three-pointer that was contested. For the Mavericks, sophomore Cooper Ridgeway stepped in for Cameron Thomas who had collected two early fouls and tallied four points. Shad Sauvage and Eli Allen knocked down two three-pointers. As the quarter came to a close, the Mavericks had created some space with a 16-8 advantage.
Trading turnovers for baskets, the Cavaliers fell even further behind. Senior Cavalier Chase McClung had difficulty getting shots to fall in the first quarter even though he was getting to the rim, and the rest of the West offense followed suit. The Mavericks were knocking down timely shots with Sauvage adding eight points to his total, Allen tacking on five, and Josh Burkes tallying six more. Cavalier senior Elijah Perkins would hit three of the four West field goals in the quarter to keep the Cavaliers within shouting distance, but the seventeen-point halftime deficit seemed much larger. If Kanode hadn’t shot a scorching 8-10 from the foul line, the Cavaliers would have been even further behind.
Sauvage kept the pressure on the Cavaliers in the third quarter as he heated up to drill two timely three-pointers. Thomas returned from his early foul trouble to haunt the Cavaliers with a stick back that drew a foul. Thomas completed that three-point play and one other for six points of his own in the third. Chase McClung started to taste some offensive success for Greenbrier West with six points and Kanode worked inside for his first three field goals of the night, but the Mavericks bested West 21-18 to lead the game by 20 after three quarters.
The fourth quarter was efficient for the Mavericks and lethal for the Cavaliers. Savauge dropped two more pinpoint three-pointers giving him six for the evening. Feeling a bit more desperate, Chase McClung put up three treys of his own but failed to find the basket. Allen worked the clock down for the Mavericks on each James Monroe possession and seemingly orchestrated a basket on each clock-draining set. The Cavaliers answered with five points from Kanode and five more from Perkins. Brayden McClung chipped in with four, but it would be too little, too late. The gritty run by Greenbrier West would come to an end.
Greenbrier West closed the season with a 15-10 record. James Monroe, #1 in Class A with a 25-0 record, would finally earn a trip to Charleston for the first time since the 1995-96 season. The Mavericks claimed the #1 seed in the state tournament and will face #8 Madonna on Tuesday at 5:30 P.M. at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
Greenbrier West (15-10) 8 12 18 14 – 52
James Monroe (25-0) 16 21 21 14 – 72
Greenbrier West
Michael Kanode 20, Elijah Perkins 10, Chase McClung 10, Brayden McClung 6, Ty Nickell 3, Dale Boone 3. Totals: 17 (16-20) 52.
James Monroe
Shad Sauvage 27, Eli Allen 14, Cameron Thomas 12, Cooper Ridgeway 9, Josh Burks 8, Collin Fox 2. Totals: 25 (13-18) 72.
3-pointers – GW: 2 (Nickell, Boone); JM: 9 (Sauvage 6, Allen 2, Burks)
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