By JONATHAN GREENE
for the Daily Telegraph
BECKLEY — From the tip to midway through the final quarter, it looked as if Princeton was going to leave Beckley with an upset win over Woodrow Wilson.
The Flying Eagles, however, weren't about to let that happen. and are moving on to the sectional championship after a hard fought 62-58 victory Friday night at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.
"We knew Princeton was going to come in here and lay it on the line and play hard," Woodrow Wilson head coach Ron Kidd said. "That's the type of kids they have and that's the type of coach Ernie (Gilliard) is. We knew Ernie was going to have a good game plan tonight."
Princeton led for first 28 minutes and 18 seconds before the Eagles took the lead on a three-point play by Corey Acord. In total, the Tigers led or were tied for nearly 30 minutes.
"Our kids fought hard," Princeton head coach Ernie Gilliard said. "I think we missed too many free throws. You've got to make your free throws. We were 8-of-19. You can't win very many like that especially against good basketball teams."
Woodrow Wilson was 16-of-23 from the charity strip including going 11-for-16 in the final stanza. Princeton was 8-of-19 and 4-of-8 in the final eight minutes.
"We hadn't been shooting free throws well, maybe 60 percent on the season," Kidd said. "When it really counts, we step up. Our kids lock in and make them. It was nice seeing that."
The game started in the Tigers favor as they won the tip and took the lead on a lay in by Aaron Ferguson. Ferguson and Logan McKinney would trade baskets as Princeton's lead grew to 9-1.
The Eagles first basket of the game came four minutes in when Noah Hancock connected on a hook shot. The teams would trade baskets until Ferguson's put-back at the buzzer which gave the Tigers an 18-7 advantage.
Woodrow began to turn things around in the second quarter as they trimmed the deficit to as few as one behind two three's from Acord and several Princeton turnovers. But after 16 minutes, the Tigers still held the lead at 29-26.
The third quarter was more of the same with Princeton keeping a slim lead. However, the Eagles were able to tie the game at 35 after two straight treys from Brent Osborne.
A determined Ferguson was exactly the answer for the Tigers. He scored nine points in the third including a big three-point play late which allowed Princeton to take a 44-41 lead into the final quarter.
The lead grew to eight after a nearly impossible three-point play by McKinney made it 52-44 with 6:15 remaining.
Two free throws from Hancock and four from Acord brought Woodrow back to life and back into the game at 52-50.
Following a Ferguson lay-in, Osborne found Tarek Payne open underneath for an easy score then Acord stole the ball and drove to the hoop. He made the bucket and turned it into a three-point play which gave the Eagles a 55-54 lead with 3:42 left.
The teams traded baskets before a free throw at the 2:52 mark by Payne made it 57-all.
Woodrow would regain the lead a minute and half later on a lay-in by Hancock and wouldn't surrender it down the stretch.
"It came down to decision making," Gilliard commented. "That's something we've been preaching since I've been here is that our kids have to make good decisions down the stretch. We had some ill-advised shots.
"We had an ill-advised dribble at half court. Turnovers like that hurt you down the stretch. It comes down to decision making and playing fundamentally sound."
The Eagles would go just 3-of-6 from the charity strip in the final minutes, but Princeton could only manage one more point as their attempts just missed the mark.
There was some confusion late in the game as players had to be separated. Ferguson was called for a foul on Malyk Fowlkes who was then charged with a technical after shoving Ferguson.
Fowlkes went to the line to shot two free throws since the Eagles were in the double bonus. He made one.
Ashton O'Dell shot two free throws for Princeton and he made one of the two.
Acord paced Woodrow with 16 points. Hancock had 13 and Steven Beasley finished with nine. Osborne chipped in eight.
Ferguson had a game-high 23 points for Princeton. McKinney added 18.
"Nothing, but tremendous effort,” Gilliard said of Ferguson's play. “He played tonight the way we've expected him to play. He was a dominant player inside both offensively and defensively."
With the win, Woodrow Wilson (14-7) will visit Greenbrier East (21-2) Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Class AAA Region 3, Section 2 championship game.
Princeton finishes the season 6-13.
"It's been inconsistent,” Gilliard said of the year. “We're a pretty good basketball team when we do the fundamentally sound things. When we make good decisions and when we play to our strength which is our inside game. When we get away from that, we're a mediocre team.”
He added, “I am proud of our kids."

At Beckley
PRINCETON (6-13)
Colton Fix 2 0-1 4, Jacob Whittington 2 0-2 5, Cole Cochran 0 0-0 0, Ashton O'Dell 3 1-2 8, Logan McKinney 7 4-7 18, Aaron Ferguson 10 3-7 23, Garrison Hartwell 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 8-19 58.
WOODROW WILSON (14-7)
Corey Acord 4 6-7 16, Malyk Fowlkes 1 1-2 3, Tarek Payne 2 3-5 7, Noah Hancock 4 5-8 13, Brent Osborne 3 0-0 8, Jahmar Parker 1 0-0 2, Steven Beasley 4 1-1 9, Dylan Ray 2 0-0 4. Totals: 21 16-23 62.
Princeton.......................18 11 15 14 — 58
Woodrow Wilson.............7 19 15 21 — 62
3-point goals: PR: 2 (Whittington, O'Dell); WW: 4 (Acord 2, Osborne 2). Fouled out: PR: Ferguson. Technical: Fowlkes.