The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Other Sports

Related Photos

  • Tarek Payne takes the ball in over Kendall Reynolds on Saturday during the 41st Annual Biddy-Buddy Tournament in Beckley. Chris Tilley

    030313 biddy buddy
March 3, 2013

Championships set at Biddy-Buddy

Titles in five age groups to be decided today at four locations

By Gary Fauber Assistant Sports Editor

BECKLEY — Fun is the name of the game at the Wendy’s/YMCA of Southern West Virginia Biddy-Buddy All-Star Tournament. But there is also plenty of hardware to be handed out, and that happens today as the 41st annual event draws to a close.

Championships will be decided in five age brackets: fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grades. Four different sites will serve as the scenes as teams walk away with the trophies, as will all-tournament players and most valuable players.

In the fourth-grade division, the Southern Express will battle the Chesapeake Panthers for the championship. That game will be played at the Y.

The fifth-grade title comes down to West Virginia Ice and NSBC Rampage. That game will take place at Van Meter Gymnasium on the campus of UC-Beckley.

SWV Future will meet West Virginia Midland in the sixth-grade championship. Four members of SWV Future attend Park Middle School and will enjoy home-court advantage today — the game will be played at Park, with the familiar Roadrunner painted on one of the walls.

M.A.T.T.S. Mustangs won the seventh-grade title in 2012. Today, they will try to win the eighth-grade championship and close out their Biddy-Buddy run on top.

Last year, the Mustangs played short-handed when two of their players had to return home early because of tornadoes that ripped through their region of Kentucky.

The acronym M.A.T.T.S. stands for Ministering to Athletes Through Teen Sports. It is a way to honor the memory of coach John Adkins’ son Matt, who was killed in 2002 in Florida, where John was coaching a 17-year-old AAU team.

The Mustangs’ opponent will be the West Virginia Generals — a rematch of last year’s seventh-grade game.

The Generals advanced to the title game after a 48-47 win over a loaded Rising Stars team in Saturday’s semifinals.

West Virginia’s win over Tri-State Express 1 on Saturday morning was its first game together of the travel season.

“(We) played tough,” Generals coach Mike Fowlkes said. “Got better as the game went on. ‘Rusty’ is being generous.”

The Generals are led by the likes of Isiah Francis of Park and Tarek Payne and Courtney Walton of Beckley-Stratton.

Also playing for the Generals is Tamon Scruggs from South Charleston. He is the son of Anthony Scruggs and nephew of Gene Nabors, both former all-staters at Woodrow Wilson.

“He can play,” Fowlkes said. “He hasn’t even been in the gym to practice with us yet and he played a great game with us today.”

Beating the Rising Stars is no small accomplishment — coach Andre Nazario’s team was the 14th-ranked travel team in the nation last year.

“I’m excited about this year’s team,” Nazario said. “I lost some good players (from last year), but I replaced them with some good kids. Good, fundamental (minded) kids that actually get after it. And actually (we’re) bigger than (we were) last year. So I’m excited about our guard play and our bigs that can stretch the floor.”

The Stars are made up of players from across Raleigh County, as well as Charleston, Princeton, Huntington and Bluefield.

Today’s seventh-grade title game was not set at press time.

Both the seventh- and eighth-grade championships will be played at Woodrow Wilson.

All championship games will tip off at 1 p.m. Fifth-place games will start at 10 a.m. and third-place games at 11:30 a.m.

— On the Internet:

ymcaswv.com

Text Only
Other Sports
  • Bubba.jpg Bubba coming to Greenbrier Classic

    Golf’s two most famous left-handers will both be in White Sulphur Springs next month.

    June 17, 2013 1 Photo

  • Miners return home to face Paints

    Joe Goddard’s days of making the decisions out of a baseball dugout were supposed to be finished.
    The longtime Independence High School coach retired at the end of the 2012 baseball season after an ultra-successful career.

    June 17, 2013

  • APTOPIX NBA Finals He_Work.jpg Manu Ginobili sparks Spurs to Game 5 win

    With the old Manu Ginobili back, the San Antonio Spurs looked like champs again.
    One more victory and their Big Three, not Miami's, will be the one that rules the NBA.
    Ginobili broke out of a slump in a big way with 24 points and 10 assists in his first start of the season, and the Spurs beat the Heat 114-104 on Sunday night to take a 3-2 lead.

    June 16, 2013 2 Photos

  • Derby Dames in Sunday showdown with Chemical Valley

    “You can’t get much closer to Sunday football than Sunday roller derby,” said Beckley Area Derby Dames jammer St. Brawly Girl, No. 7.
    “Bring your father out for the Father’s Day Fallout!”

    June 15, 2013

  • Bloop hits hurt Miners in first game of twin-bill with Paints

    Chicks may dig the long ball, but on some nights just a few well-placed bloop hits can spell more damage than home runs.

    June 15, 2013

  • Beckley Motorsports Park stays safe

    Safety is a major concern at Beckley Motorsports Park.
    The 3/8th-mile, high-banked dirt facility at Prosperity takes every precaution to protect drivers, fans and workers.

    June 13, 2013

  • 061313 Miners.jpg Miscues cost Miners

    If only earned runs counted, the West Virginia Miners and the Slippery Rock Sliders may still be playing at Linda K. Epling Stadium.

    June 13, 2013 1 Photo

  • 061213 Miners Miners win third straight

    Normally, Dale Davis would have batted left-handed in his seventh-inning at-bat against Slippery Rock reliever Kevin Becker-Mendito. But because of the right-hander’s sidearm motion, the switch-hitting Davis attacked from the right side.

    June 12, 2013 1 Photo

  • W.Va. Miners Notes: Aliviado has been impressive early for Miners

    Kaeo Aliviado’s first at-bat in his awaited West Virginia Miners debut was one he might like to forget. The left-handed-hitting left fielder saw three pitches and struck out looking.

    June 10, 2013

  • Kregeloh’s big day leads Miners' win

    Pat Kregeloh received the ultimate compliment, and the West Virginia Miners vaulted themselves back to .500.

    June 10, 2013