Institute – The last four seasons Greenbrier West and Williamstown have had an annual meeting in the Par Mar Shootout in the Big House.
The Class AA No. 4-ranked Yellowjackets may be wanting to rethink that arrangement.
Wednesday afternoon inside the Walker Convocation Center on the campus of West Virginia State University the Cavaliers knocked off Williamstown for the third time over those four meetings.
Powered by 24 points from freshman Brayden McClung and a tenacious defensive effort, Greenbrier West bested the defending Class AA state champions, 63-56.
“We came out of the gate and we played really hard. I think we shell-shocked them a little bit with our effort,” Greenbrier West head coach Jared Robertson said. “(Williamstown) is really good. I told our guys at halftime that they would make adjustments. They have a great coach that knows what buttons to push and they will come after us. We would have to answer their run. I can’t say enough about our kids effort today.”
Williamstown took the early 6-2 lead with two long balls, but over the next eight minutes the Cavaliers outscored the Yellowjackets 18-0 for a 20-6 lead.
Greenbrier West held a solid 24-13 lead at the break, but in reality, Williamstown was fortunate to be that close.
“First thing (assistant head) Coach (Kelly) Vaughn said in the locker room was we should be up 20. I said no, we should be up 30,” Robertson said. “We missed that many easy ones early. I wish I had the secret because we would be better than 11-6. I told them it would it be a dogfight in the second half. ”
With the lead at 10 points just three minutes into the second half Alex Irvin became a problem for the Cavaliers.
Five straight from Irvin cut the lead back to four, but West held steady and answered with a 7-0 run for an 11-point lead that was 43-33 heading to the fourth period.
Unfortunately for West, Irvin wasn’t finished causing fits.
A pair of free throws and two steals led to a 6-0 spurt in the first minute of the fourth quarter. With 5:15 to play, the Yellowjackets were within three, but the Cavaliers allowed them to get no closer.
“In the second half, they cut it close a couple of times, but we answered the run. Heaven help me, if we can just finish at the rim, we win big today,” Robertson said. “It’s game after game and not like it’s a new thing. I give our kids credit though. We came in here with no fear and said we are going to go win a basketball game.”
A spin move in the lane by Dale Boone and a pair of free tosses from Ty Nickell made it 51-44 with four minutes to play.
From that point, the Cavaliers attacked the gaps in the Williamstown zone to get to the foul line.
Chief among the attackers was the freshman McClung, who made 10 of his 12 free throws attempts in the second half.
“I haven’t really made many 3-pointers this year, so I do better driving to the basket,” McClung said.
“They play that zone and they are so long and can spread out. I told our guards that they had to attack the gaps. Brayden has no fear and he was able to get to the the rim,” Robertson said. “We got them in team foul trouble and I told Brayden he was attacking every time to get to the line.”
A triple from Irvin, who finished with 27 points, brought the Yellowjackets within six with 2:53 to play, but they could get no closer down the stretch.
“This win means a lot. No one thought we were going to win this game,” McClung said. “Just to come in here and get it done is really big.”
Historically, Wednesday’s win for the Cavaliers was their fourth overall in five games against the Yellowjackets. Greenbrier West also defeated Williamstown on its way to the 1992 state championship title.
GW: 12 12 19 20 – 63
W: 6 7 20 23 – 56
Greenbrier West (11-6)
Brayden McClung 24, Chase McClung 8, Ty Nickell 11, Michael Kanode 8, Elijah Perkins 5, Dale Boone 7. Totals: 22 15-20 63
Williamstown (14-5)
Seth Hammer 4, Gavin Bosgraf 3, Alex Irvin 27, Parker Schramm 11, Payton Bunch 4, Dylan Ashley 2, Gavin Lemley 5. Totals: 18 15-20 56.
3-pointers – GW: 2 (C. McClung, Boone); W: 5 (Irvin 4, Schramm).
