The 6th seed Chapmanville Tigers fell in a heart breaker, 47-46, to the 3rd seed Fairmont Senior Polar Bears on Tuesday morning in the Class AAA quarterfinals at the Charleston Civic Center.
The Polar Bears (18-5) jumped out of the gate quickly, building a 15-9 advantage after the opening quarter. After a mostly slow second quarter, the Tigers (15-8) went on a 5-0 run in the closing minutes to cut Fairmont’s lead to 20-18 at the half.
Fairmont drilled three three-point field goals in the third quarter to help stretch its lead out to 41-34. The Tigers were able to claw back in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, and Chapmanville head coach Brad Napier called a timeout with 11 seconds left.
Chapmanville was trying to set up a back door play for the win, but Benji Adkins had the ball poked away by Fairmont Senior’s Brock Martin. The ball bounced to Joey Gollihue who was able to put up a three-pointer in the closing seconds, but the shot was off the mark. The Polar Bears grabbed the ball, and the game was over.
“It was a battle,” said Napier. “We didn’t expect anything less. Anytime you go up against Fairmont, they’re going to battle. Those guys know how to win. I thought we fought hard. It just wasn’t our night. We were cold. We missed some good looks. We had some go all the way in and pop out. Sometimes, it just isn’t your night.”
Keaton Terry led the Tigers with 18 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks. Benji Adkins followed with 16 points. Joey Gollihue added 7 points. Jay Brock scored 4 points. Dakota Dalton finished with 1 point and 8 assists.
The Polar Bears were led by Darrell Claybrook and Trea Cumberledge with 15 points each. Julz Butler scored 13 points in the win.
Photos Courtesy of Chris Kidd
