AM
Beavers wrap up regular season with win at Princet
Bluefield (66) Vs. Princeton (53)
Feb 28, 2015
By TOM BONE
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
PRINCETON — It is entirely fitting that a game that was yanked around by the weather should have had its turning point in what one coach called a “snowball effect.”
Bluefield used an impressive defensive performance in the second quarter to reverse a big Princeton lead, and the Beavers rolled to a 66-53 victory on Friday night in the latest episode in their long boys basketball rivalry.
As long as Princeton (6-13) got the ball into the paint, a trio of seniors were often able to get second chances and convert possessions into points. Getting the ball there was often a big problem.
Jordan Ponder took over the game for Bluefield (10-8) when it counted. He had 15 points in each half, including five 3-pointers and a 9-for-11 showing at the foul line, to lead all scorers with 30 points.
Center Matthew Woodrum added 12 points, and Corey Coppola cleared 10 rebounds. Six Beavers grabbed steals in the game.
Aaron Ferguson bucketed 11 of Princeton’s 23 field goals and secured 20 rebounds and a steal. Fellow seniors Logan McKinney and Ashton O’Dell provided 10 points each. McKinney had six rebounds and O’Dell had four boards.
Both teams made 23 field goals, but five of Bluefield’s were from beyond the arc, and the Beavers made 15 of 24 free throws, while the Tigers took nine charity tosses and made six.
Before the game was five minutes old, Princeton had gone 4-for-7 from the field and held an 11-1 lead. Bluefield was 0-for-9 in that span against an effective zone defense.
The Beavers went to their press and things began to unravel for the Tigers, who scored just eight points the rest of the half while turning the ball over 11 times.
Ponder said, “It was very hard for us to penetrate that defense. They (were) playing a zone, but we kind of figured out some plays to work it, and get our bigs involved more, and to work inside-out, and it just started working for it.”
Bluefield head coach Buster Large said, “We missed a lot of shots, but they were playing pretty good defense, also. The big thing for us is that we were able to settle down ... and were able to utilize some different players, and it worked out really well.”
Princeton head coach Ernie Gilliard said that at the start of the game, “We made good decisions, both defensively and offensively. ... We were patient. We were executing our offensive sets, and we had success.
“Then they started pressuring us, and when things start going bad, then you sort of have a snowball effect. When that happens, kids sort of revert back to bad habits.”
“Before you knew it, when you’re playing against teams like Bluefield, then they’ve got a little run on you.”
“Our shooting guard and our point guard both got in foul trouble, and having those two off the floor really hurt us.”
Ponder was fouled shooting a 3 midway through the second quarter and hit all three free throws to produce the game’s only tie, 17-17. Bluefield scored the next nine points and led 30-19 at the break.
Ferguson and O’Dell led a Princeton comeback that trimmed Bluefield’s lead to 32-29, but the Beavers forced three straight turnovers scored the next nine points, including three consecutive field goals by Woodrum.
Gilliard said, “If you’ve got those three empty possessions, they’re off to the races again, and they were getting layups.”
Again at the start of the fourth quarter, the Tigers closed in. Ferguson had a block, a defensive rebound, and a jumper and Bluefield’s lead was 41-37.
Ponder promptly hit three treys in a decisive 13-4 run. A dizzying exchange of five field goals in less than a minute did little to alter the scoring margin, and the Beavers remained n control.
Large said, “A game like this, everybody’s going to make runs, here and there. ... Coach Gilliard does a great job.”
He said, “I thought it was a great high school game. Their kids played hard; it was a rivalry game.”
“We didn’t play well early, but we settled down. There was a lot of excitement in this gym, a lot of emotion, and I think we handled it well.”
Ferguson said, “We thought we were going to have them, there for a little bit. Their pressure just killed our (offense) and it went from there.”
“The energy (from our fans) was fantastic. We just came up a little short.”
Woodrum said, “Ferguson is a really good player. We knew we had a lot to handle with him, we just tried to contain him the best we could. He had a tough game.”
“It was a battle down there (in the paint).”
Gilliard said, “I’m proud of our kids. They fought hard. We’ve just got to continue to play harder, we’ve got to continue to grow.”
Princeton, the No. 3 seed in the southern West Virginia Class AAA sectional, will play Woodrow Wilson in Beckley at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The Beavers will return to the same Princeton court to take on James Monroe in a Class AA sectional semifinal at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Large said, “I’m really proud of these kids, the way they’ve won nine in a row and 10 of their last 11. That tells me a lot about their senior leadership, sportsmanship, character.”
— Contact Tom Bone at
tbone@bdtonline.com;
Twitter @BDTBone

At The Ralph Ball Court
BLUEFIELD (10-8)
Lytrell Collier 4 0-1 8, Raheem Reed 1 1-5 3, Jordan Ponder 8 9-11 30, Corey Coppola 3 0-0 6, Matthew WOodrum 5 2-3 12, Donte Hopikins 2 3-4 7. Totals 23 15-24 66.
PRINCETON (6-13)
Colton Fix 2 2-2 6, Jacob Whittington 1 0-0 3, Cole Cochran 1 0-0 2, Ashton O’Dell 4 2-2 10, Logan McKinney 4 2-5 10, Aaron Ferguson 11 0-0 22. Totals 23 6-9 53.
Bluefield.......................9 21 11 25 — 66
Princeton....................13 6 16 18 — 53
3-point goals — Blfd 5 (Ponder 5); Pctn 1 (Whittington). Total fouls — Blfd 10, Pctn 21. Fouled out — McCabe (Pctn). Technical foul — Hopkins (Blfd).
Nightly Roundup
Game Scoreboard
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT SCORE
Bluefield 9 21 11 25 0 66
Princeton 13 6 16 18 0 53
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