Friday night at the Little General Battle for the Armory, the showdown between defending state champions was as much about issues off the court as on the court.
On the court, the story was all about Class AAA defending state champion Shady Spring.
Squaring off in a much anticipated showdown with Class AA defending state champion Charleston Catholic, the Tigers erupted on a 21-0 run and cruised past the Irish, 67-53.
Shady Spring advances to the championship game of the Burger King Division where it will meet Beckley in a Raleigh County showdown at 8 p.m.
Charleston Catholic will meet up with Wyoming East in the consolation game at 6 p.m.
“That pace was crazy. We rebounded a lot better tonight and shot better from the free-throw line. Our press looked great and the energy was there. We shared the ball well,” Shady Spring head coach Ronnie Olson said. “The score wasn’t indicative of the game. I felt like we controlled the game. We have things to work on and they have things to work on too. We stopped pressing early, but I was very happy the way we dominated the game.”
Seniors Jalon Bailey and Jack Williams set the aggressive tone early for Shady.
Bailey took the opening tip and muscled his way to the rim for a 2-0 lead that the Tigers never relinquished.
On the opposite end, Williams rejected a layup attempt by all-stater Zaden Ranson which ended in him ripping a triple on the other end for a 5-0 advantage.
“(Jack) is definitely better than last year. He has put some weight on and he has always had that edge,” Olson said. “He is going to get in you and talk. I love that. He is definitely a reflection of who we are as a program. He never stops playing.”
The Irish remained close for the first six minutes in large part to three long balls, but with the score 14-11, Shady Spring hit another gear to open up a double-digit lead.
“I felt like we controlled the game. That is a pretty good team. We know they are not the team they were last year, but our guys said they were better than we thought,” Olson said. “They played Hurricane tough and Winfield solid. I am happy with it being only our third game.”
Three points from Gabe Short and a bucket from Bailey gave the Tigers a 19-11 lead after one quarter, but the worst was yet to come from the Tigers.
Khi Olson worked his way through the paint for a score inside and followed it up with an assist to Eli Sexton. Bailey added to the run with a stickback before he drove the lane and hit Braedy Johnston for a triple.
Williams increased the lead to 19 points with a steal and a layup ahead of Bailey pitched a winner to Johnston for another triple.
When Johnston took the defensive rebound on the next possession and went coast-to-coast for a score, Shady Spring led 35-11 and had held the Irish scoreless for six minutes.
“I saw a lot of things and it would be hard to wrap in one article, to be honest. To wrap it up in one sentence is we just weren’t ready,” Charleston Catholic head coach Hunter Moles said. “Shady (Spring) is still in championship form. They are the type of team that practices at 6 a.m. on Christmas Eve. That is the type of team they are. If you are up at 6 a.m. on Christmas Eve practicing, that is what that 21-0 run is.”
Also a big factor in the outburst for the Tigers was the fact that Ranson was called for his second foul with 1:59 to play in the first quarter and had to sit most of the Shady Spring run.
“He got a foul in the first 30-35 seconds of the game which wasn’t a smart foul. The second might be a more 50-50 call, but you already have the first one,” Moles said. “He has to be a lot smarter. He gets two fouls early and then we can’t play aggressive the rest of the game because he is scared to get fouls. We just have to find balance.”
The lead was 19 points at the break and 20 points after three quarters. The Irish did trim the lead back to 11 points late before Myles Clark hit a 3-ball for the final margin.
“Our focus was to keep playing. We are not the type of team that handles losing well and just lays down,” Moles said. “I probably should have pulled some guys. Coach Olson pulled his top guys and he could have kept going at us. We had three freshman on the court and I just wanted to get them in the mindset that anytime your are the court to play hard.”
Johnston led all scorers with 17 points, while Bailey scored 15 and Williams had 13 points and five steals.
“(Braedy) hit some big shots tonight and he has really worked at it in the offseason. I thought we made the right passes and he was getting in the right spots,” Olson said. “I hope everybody reciprocates that to each other as the season goes along. We are dribbling people open. If we are an unselfish team, I think we will be hard to stop. One thing I really liked about Braedy was he drove to the basket tonight. That is going to be his next progression. His role is different this year.”
The story off the court for the Irish has been the loss of two key seniors to injury. Max Wilcox, who has been a pillar for the program, was lost for the season to an ACL injury. Inside presence, standing at 6-foot-8, Patrick Arbaugh is also out with a slim chance to return late in the season.
“We are beat up right now, but we are a no excuse basketball program and that is what we want to be. As a coach I can’t sit here and feel sorry for ourselves,” Moles said. “We are just down some guys. Practices aren’t intense enough, but we can’t make excuses. That is what weak-minded people do. We have to be strong-minded and figure out what is going to work for the people we do have.”
