BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Tug Valley High School Panthers did something rare in sports. They won their third straight Class A state championship by defeating the Greater Beckley Christian (GBC) Crusaders 64-54 Saturday morning at the Charleston Coliseum.
The Beckley school came into the tourney as the No. 1 seed, while the Mingo County school was seeded No. 2.
Tug Valley made history with the three-peat, becoming the first team from Mingo County to win three titles in a row. Williamson High School won back-to-back championships back in 1988 and 1989.
Coach “Garland” Rabbit Thompson has now won five state titles at Tug Valley. He guided them to back-to-back championships back in 2012-13 (AA in 2012) and now has led the Panthers to these three straight Class A titles.
The Panthers fell behind early at 10-2 before a three-point play the old-fashioned way by Braydun Ferris cut the lead to 10-5. Eli Gunter answered with a three for GBC, but Carson Newsome added a pair of baskets to cut into the Crusaders lead.
A basket by the Panthers Preston May cut it to 13-11. After a GBC miss, Tug played for one shot, a drive by Ferris that was blocked out of bounds with .03 left on the clock.
A quick inbound pass to Tug’s Bryson Elia was swished in, but waived off by the officials, thus the Crusaders kept a 2-point lead after one quarter.
The Panthers battled back and the game was tied at 25-all at halftime.
Tug Valley took a 40-37 lead after three quarters, setting up an exciting fourth quarter in the final and biggest game of the season.
With the score tied at 44-44, Ferris nailed a 3-pointer from the corner, then Tug got a stop at the other end of the court. Zade Rash then nailed a huge trey, giving the Panthers their biggest lead at 50-44 at the 5:00 mark of the final period.
“That gave us some energy,” Coach Thompson said of the back-to-back 3-pointers.
The two squads traded baskets as TV led 52-46 with 4:12 left in the game and a media timeout.
Two free throws by Ferris and a breakaway layup by Cam Slone gave TVHS a 56-46 lead as the minutes ticked off the game clock.
GBC was forced to foul to put Tug on the foul line, trying to buy some time on the clock. TVHS hit some clutch foul shots down the stretch. The Panthers outscored the Crusaders 24-17 in the final quarter to pull away.
The Panthers veteran coaching staff could breathe a little easier as their team held on down the stretch to come away with the big victory for yet another state tournament championship. Tug Valley has built a basketball tradition, as Thompson won his fifth state title as head coach at the Naugatuck school.
“I’m proud of our kids for winning a three-peat,” Coach Thompson said in a postgame interview. “We made some good decisions down the stretch and hit some free throws.”
Thompson praised the loud and proud Tug Valley crowd that was in attendance as the “6th man” for the team.
“You have to give Greater Beckley a lot of credit,” Thompson added. “They have a lot of class.”
Justin Arvon coaches the Crusaders.
Once again Ferris led Tug Valley in scoring with 30 points. He had a fantastic three-game run at the state tournament. The lightning-quick guard has been Tug’s leading scorer and assist leader all season.
Newsome was next in line with 12 points, Slone scored nine, Rash scored five, May six off the bench and Elia two. Newsome and Slone each pulled down six rebounds, while Ferris and May both had five boards. Ferris also dished out four assists.
Iziah Gordon led the Crusaders with 18, Javonte Spencer followed with 17 and Gunter added nine.
Tug Valley shot 51% from the floor, while GBC shot 37%. The Panthers made 15-21 at the free-throw line for 71%.
Ferris, a senior point guard, was named Most Valuable Player for the game. He was the first-team All-State captain last season and should receive that honor once again. Ferris scored 86 points over three state tournament games. He passed the 2,000 career point total during the tourney.
Ferris credited his coaches and teammates for his success during his tenure at Tug Valley.
The Class A All-tournament team consisted of Ferris, Newsome and Rash of Tug Valley, along with Gordon and Spencer of GBC.
Tug Valley finished with a fine 21-5 record.
Score by quarters:
Tug: 11 14 15 24 – 64
GBC: 13 12 12 17 – 54