By Jim Workman
Register-Herald Sports Writer
NEW RICHMOND — Three out of four wouldn’t be too bad.
At least that’s the thought of Wyoming East fans.
The No. 1-ranked Warriors will be gunning for their third Class AA state championship in four seasons after they earned another trip to Charleston next week by slipping by No. 9 Bluefield 85-83 in a Class AA Region 3 co-final Thursday night.
Wyoming East improved to 20-2. Bluefield ended its season at 16-8.
Seedings and the tournament schedule are expected to be announced by the WVSSAC later today.
Wyoming East won titles in 2007 and 2008 and finished as runner-up in 2009.
A running shot in the lane by Chase Morgan with five seconds left and a steal by Evan Muscari on the ensuing inbounds pass sealed the victory.
But that series of events couldn’t overshadow the performance of Bluefield guard Craig Ponder, who poured in 56 points for the Beavers — 23 coming in the fourth quarter as Bluefield erased a 13-point deficit heading into the final period.
“They hit us with a steady dose of Ponder,” Wyoming East coach Rory Chapman said.
“That was the best high school performance I’ve ever seen. And he did it against our defense. That shows how special he is.”
“He is one of the best players I’ve ever played against,” Morgan said of Ponder. “We went after each other all night. It was a back and forth game.”
The Warriors held off the onslaught. It was an accomplishment that will serve the Warriors well in the coming games, Morgan said.
“I’m predicting that we can win (a state championship), but we have to play all four quarters like we did tonight,” he said. “It’s a great feeling to being going up there (to Charleston).”
Morgan led Wyoming East with 32 points. Alex Webb tallied 16 points. Muscari contributed 15 and Andrew Bishop added 11 for the Warriors.
Region 3 featured the Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 9 teams in the state.
Wyoming East and No. 2 Oak Hill each won co-finals Thursday night. The Red Devils defeated No. 3 PikeView 59-49.
“We knew going in that we had the toughest region,” Chapman said. “I’m just happy to get out of here with a win. It’s tough. I feel very lucky.”
The contest had the atmosphere of a state title game, with a packed gym and deafening noise coming from the fans from both sides.
“It’s an unbelievable home-court advantage,” Chapman said.
Interestingly, the two-point victory could also be accounted for by Morgan’s shooting accuracy — which was displayed in place of the usual opening tip.
In pre-game warm-ups, officials whistled Bluefield with a technical foul because one of its players allegedly dunked in a layup drill.
So the game began with Morgan on the free throw line shooting a pair of free throws.
He hit them both to give Wyoming East a 2-0 lead.
Fittingly, the junior guard began and ended the contest.
“Chase has been unbelievable,” Chapman said. “He’s a scorer that gets to the basket. And he brings us a tremendous amount of energy.”
— Email: jworkman@register-herald.com
Wyoming East 85, Bluefield 83
Bluefield (16-8)
Craig Ponder 20 10-13 56, Courtney Wallace 0 0-2 0, Damien Price 2 4-4 8, Kyle Harris 1 2-2 4, Joe Woodrum 2 0-1 4, Byron Steptoe 2 1-2 7, Leo Gimenez 2 0-0 4. Totals: 29 17-24 83.
Wyoming East (20-2)
Chase Morgan 10 5-7 32, Trey Fralin 1 0-1 2, Evan Muscari 6 0-1 15, Luke Campbell 1 0-0 2, Alex Webb 6 1-2 16, Marcus Schofield 1 3-4 5, Andrew Bishop 2 7-7 11, Zach Foley 1 0-0 2. Totals: 28 16-22 85.
B 12 24 11 35 — 83
W 18 18 24 25 — 85
Three-point goals: B: 8 (Ponder 6, Steptoe 2); W: 11 (Morgan 5, Webb 3, Muscari 3); Fouled out: WE: Fralin, Schofield.
