NAUGATUCK, W.Va. — The Tug Valley Panthers and coaching staff are the Auto Brokers Players of the Week.

The Panthers defeated No. 1 seed Tucker County 35-32 Saturday in the Class A West Virginia Boys Basketball State Tournament in Charleston to bring the big trophy back to Naugatuck.

Coach Garland “Rabbit” Thompson’s crew went into the game as the No. 2 seed, having lost a regular-season contest to Tucker County. They had also lost to the Mountain Lions in the semifinals of the state tournament last year. So revenge was sweet for the Panthers in the game that counted.

Tug Valley led Tucker County 18-17 heading into the dressing room at halftime.

The lead seesawed back and forth in the second half, but Tug Valley pulled it out with outstanding defense.

The Panthers outscored the Mountain Lions 9-4 in the final quarter to win the school’s fourth-ever boys basketball state championship. (They won state championships in 1999, 2012 and 2013.)

Teammates Buddy Marcum, Braydun Ferris and Ashton Davis all made the Class A All-Tournament team.

Tug finished the 2023-2024 campaign with a fine 22-6 record.