By DAN STILLWELL
for the Daily Telegraph
BECKLEY — After a week's layoff from practicing and playing because of the weather, some might have expected some rust in the works when Class A No. 2 Greater Beckley Christian hosted PikeView.
Perhaps there was some rust, as Greater Beckley was getting outhustled early, particularly on the boards.
But as the game progressed, it was PikeView that showed fatigue as Greater Beckley pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 68-58 victory.
"We've worked hard on getting in shape and making sure we can run the floor," Greater Beckley coach Brian Helton said. "Our conditioning has been good this year, and it's such an important part of the game."
The 20-2 Crusaders trailed 29-26 at halftime. PikeView (12-9) was beating them on loose balls and held a 22-18 advantage on the boards.
"Our bigs did a really nice job on the boards in the first half," Panthers coach Colton Thompson said. "Seth Wood and Tyler Ruble were pulling rebounds from above the rim."
Wood had eight points and Ruble and Seth Meadows both had six at the break. Courtney Walton scored nine first-half points and Elisha Kidd had eight for Greater Beckley.
But with the majority of the rebounds going PikeView's way, Greater Beckley's fast break was sputtering.
"At halftime, Courtney Walton had seven rebounds, and there wasn't another guy on the team who had more than two," Helton said. "We talked about it, and the guys all committed they would do their job and hit the glass."
PikeView kept battling — there were 12 lead changes in the second half — but Greater Beckley went ahead for keeps, 57-56, with 2:19 left to play on an Anthony Helton lay-in followed by a Tyriek Walton steal and drive.
Isaiah Francis followed with a transition bucket, Courtney Walton was left wide-open for a lay-up and Tyriek Walton hit two foul shots to complete a 10-0 run.
PikeView would score just once more, on two foul shots by Jason Weitzel.
"I think both teams picked up where they left off two weeks ago," Thompson said. "We had a good run, but we kind of run out of gas the last two or three minutes."
Wood led PikeView with 14 points. Weitzel and Ruble had 12 apiece and Seth Meadows scored 11.
The Panthers will conclude their regular season at Shady Spring Friday night.
Courtney Walton led Greater Beckley with 20 points and 12 boards. Elisha Kidd netted 17 points, while Isaiah Francis notched 14 points and three steals. Brett Daniels scored nine points and Tyriek Walton had five assists and five rebounds to go with six points.
"Our kids decided they wanted to win the game," Helton said. "The intensity we played with in the fourth quarter was the difference."
The Crusaders will begin sectional tournament play at home Tuesday against the winner of the Montcalm-Man play-in game.
— E-mail: dstillwell@register-herald.com


PIKEVIEW (12-9)
Seth Wood 7 0-0 14, Jason Weitzel 4 22 12, Tyler Ruble 3 5-8 12, Austin Hazelwood 2 0-0 6, Seth Meadows 4 2-5 11, Hunter Hill 1 0-0 3. Totals: 21 9-15 58.
GREATER BECKLEY CHRISTIAN (20-2)
Courtney Walton 6 5-9 20, Elisha Kidd 7 2-2 17, Anthony Helton 1 0-0 2, Isaiah Francis 6 2-5 14, Brent Daniels 4 1-1 9, Tyriek Walton 2 2-2 6. Totals: 26 12-19 68.
PikeView...........15 14 14 15 — 58
Beckley Christian......14 12 16 26 — 68
3-point goals: PV: 7 (Weitzel 2, Ruble, Hazelwood 2, Meadows, Hill); GBC: 4 (C. Walton 3, Kidd). Fouled out: PV (Wood, Meadows).