Ramey
Going back upstate
Bluefield (79) Vs. Wyoming East (76)
Mar 11, 2015
By BRIAN WOODSON
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BRUSHFORK — From 0-7 to a fourth straight trip to the Class AA state tournament. That describes the latest achievement by the Bluefield Beavers.
“It has just been at practice every day, us against the world,” Bluefield senior Jordan Ponder said. “We have just kept fighting after it every day in practice and going hard at it...”
Ponder helped secure his fourth state tournament appearance with key plays over the final five minutes, leading the Beavers to a hard-fought 79-76 Region 3 co-final victory over Wyoming East on Wednesday night at a raucous Brushfork Armory.
“It was a tough game, we was down the whole game,” Ponder said. “All we did was repeat our saying that we always say, ‘keep fighting after it, just keep fighting after it, keep fighting after it.’”
It was Bluefield’s 11th straight win over the Warriors, and the third season in a row the Beavers advanced to Charleston with a regional win over their Wyoming County rivals. The last two resulted in state championships.
“I just knew it was going to be a great game, I knew they were going to come to play,” Bluefield head coach Buster Large said. “They have too much tradition, too much pride, that is a basketball-rich tradition school down there.
“We just know each other on a first name basis. We have been through this so many times, I am just so proud of our kids, the way they kept battling.”
They didn’t have a choice. Wyoming East (10-13) made them earn it. The Warriors jumped out to an 10-3 lead, had the advantage after each of the first three quarters, and were still up 61-58 with 5:42 left in the game.
“I was proud of the way our guys came out and played tonight, I really was,” Wyoming East head coach Rory Chapman said. “I thought we played with a lot more heart and hustle. We missed some foul shots down the stretch and I think that was the difference in the game.”
Bluefield (13-8) was able to force key turnovers down the stretch, while the Warriors missed four free throws in succession that enabled the Beavers to build its largest lead at 72-64 with 1:24 to play.
“I thought Coach Tony Webster did a tremendous job switching different defenses late in the game just trying to get one break or two, and it happened,” Large said. “That is what it is all about.”
Bluefield tied the score at 61 on a basket by Coppola, and took the lead for good on a free throw from Raheem Reed and a drive to the basket and layup from Donta Hopkins for the 65-62 advantage with 3:25 on the clock.
That is when Ponder made his coach smile.
“The last two games I have really been pushing him to make something happen late and he did tonight,” Large said. “He is that kind of player, a total team effort, we had to make some big plays there late in the game.”
Alec Lusk, who led all scorers with 21 points, pulled the Warriors to within one, but missed a free throw. Reed made another charity toss and Ponder then swiped a pass at midcourt and drove to the basket for the 68-64 lead.
“Just to get the score,” said Ponder, when asked what he was thinking after getting the steal. “I knew he was going to try and foul me from behind, trying to get the and-1. I got a big technical afterwards, I didn’t mean to, it was emotional for me.”
He missed the free throw, but Wyoming East’s Logan Blankenship then missed both charity tosses after the Ponder technical. Latrell Collier followed by making a free throw, then swiped a pass and drove to the basket for two points. He was able to make the free throw that followed, building Bluefield’s lead to 72-64.
“Bluefield is athletic, they keep coming at you, it doesn’t matter how many times you break that press, they are going to jump in it and they are going to be physical with you,” Chapman said. “Down the stretch, that last five minutes, we turned it over maybe two or three times and missed foul shots.
“I really believe that is the difference in the game, that is a good basketball team.”
Lusk, who had three of Wyoming East’s seven 3s, was joined in double figures by Blankenship (15), David Carte (13), R.J. Folden (12) and John Morgan (10), who is the only one of the five who is a senior.
“If you think back in those 11 games how many games have been decided in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter,” Chapman said. “Bluefield has got a great program right now, they really have the tradition and you can’t take anything away from them.”
Bluefield was led by Jeremy Thompson, who had 18 points, including 10 in the first half, with eight coming during a second quarter that included five lead changes before the Warriors took a 35-30 lead into the break.
They still led 55-51 going to the fourth.
Ponder and Coppola added 14 points each, while Hopkins added 12 for the Beavers, who were 0-7 during the December portion of the schedule after having to forfeit three games. Since then, the Beavers have lost just once.
“I am so proud of these young men, there were a lot of people who knew we had our backs to the wall,” said Large, whose Beavers also got nine points from Matthew Woodrum, who was one of three players, along with Carte and Lusk, to foul out of the game. “I think there was a doubt at one time, but these kids went in the opposite direction.
“They came in and worked, listened to the coaches, got better, and how many teams do you see on Jan. 1 that turn around and go 13-1 in the next five weeks.”
It’s a fourth straight trip to Charleston for Ponder, which has resulted in two state titles and a state runner-up finish.
“It is a crazy feeling, I was telling my team earlier, it is the best feeling in the world,” Ponder said. “The whole school year (the goal is) to go upstate and it just feels good to be up there four times for me.
“We have just got to get up there and keep fighting like we always do and see what comes out. Only God can tell us.”
The Class AA state tournament brackets should be released today, with the eight-team affair tipping off next Thursday in Charleston.
“It is a game of Xs and Os, it is a game of decisions, it is a game of emotions, and I am so proud of these young men, they are going back and they are 1 of 8 (teams) left,” Large said. “That is big, that’s big for somebody that has already been there three years, and a lot of things can happen now.”

at Brushfork Armory
WYOMING EAST (10-13)
Jacob Dulcie 0 0-0 0, R.J. Folden 4 2-3 12, John Morgan 3 4-5 10, David Carte 5 3-4 13, Alec Lusk 7 4-8 21, Johnathan Sims 0 0-0 0, Logan Blankenship 6 1-4 15, Michael Hayworth 0 0-0 0, Logan Mullins 1 3-4 5. Totals 26 17-28 76.
BLUEFIELD (13-8)
Donta Hopkins 3 5-6 12, Latrell Collier 2 3-7 7, Jordan Ponder 3 7-11 14, Corey Coppola 5 4-6 14, Matthew Woodrum 4 1-1 9, Jeremy Thompson 7 3-4 18, Raheem Reed 2 1-3 5, Omar Logan 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 24-38 79.
Wyoming East.........19 16 20 21 — 76
Bluefield................16 14 21 28 — 79
3-point goals: WE 7 (Lusk 2, Folden 2, Blankenship 2); BF 3 (Hopkins 1, Thompson 1, Ponder 1). Total fouls: WY 27; BF 22. Fouled out: Woodrum, Carte, Lusk. Technicals: Ponder.
Nightly Roundup
Game Scoreboard
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT SCORE
Bluefield 16 14 21 28 0 79
Wyoming East 19 16 20 21 0 76
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