BLACKSVILLE, W.Va. – Morgantown teams had some magic sprinkled on them Tuesday night, as two top-10 upsets occurred on road floors. Just before the Morgantown girls’ team upset No. 1 Wheeling Park in Wheeling, Trinity Christian upset No. 10 Clay-Battelle (18-6) in Blacksville, 78-69.
Understandably, the Cee-Bees were rocked by the loss to their rival but where one team is dealing with the shock of an upset the other is celebrating in the locker room. And before he could get to his team to join in the festive, postgame talk, TCS coach John Fowkes entered the away team’s hallway with one mantra, “It’s our time, it’s our time.”
“We’re glad to win this one tonight but our goal is to be section champions and play in the state tournament,” Fowkes said. “I told the boys we needed to get through this one and if we just followed the game plan you could take of business. This team’s not done yet. They’re young and feisty and bought into everything we said.”
But before anyone could celebrate, the Warriors (12-11) and Cee-Bees were duking it out on the pine. Going shot for shot until each team hit the 15-point mark, Trinity began pulling away to take a 29-18 lead after the first quarter, implementing a full-court press that took C-B out of its offensive rhythm. And it didn’t stop there, they continued on their tirade led by Seth Goins’ dropping dimes from beyond the arc to take a 51-34 lead at the half.
Goins ended the first 16 minutes with 23 points behind five triples, two jumpers and a 4 of 4 performance from the free throw line.
But the Cee-Bees weren’t going to roll over and give in. Instead, the team who shattered expectations all season began chipping away at the Warriors 17-point lead, breaking within 10 points in the third quarter behind a 12-0 run and a 4-0 run, both snapped by Goins with triples. To end the third, Seth Casino hit a deep triple to put C-B within eight at 61-53. The Cee-Bees kept grinding, in the fourth, breaking within five points of their rival twice, but freshman Drew Boczek was there for two steals – he had three in the second half alone – to get in the Cee-Bees’ heads. That pressure from Boczek, plus bruising layups by Fletcher Hartsock and Noah Kurilko down low, helped the Warriors stay afloat and deliver the upset.
“We tightened up [in the third quarter, but that’s natural when kids have a big lead like that,” Fowkes said. “No doubt with these kids and what they want to do with the season. Honestly, it was a great win for Trinity, but unfortunately, this will probably be the last time we play these guys – we’re moving to triple-A and they stay single-A. I don’t know what’s going on with the rivalry, but if they want to play we’ll play them. It’s a good rivalry, and that was a fun environment tonight. That’s what this time of the year is all about, this is what coaches dream for.”
Goins ended with 33 points, while Hartsock netted 23. Kurilko was the final TCS player to reach double digits, putting in 13, 10 of which came in the paint.
And as for his freshman sneak thief, Fowkes had nothing but praise for him.
“We key a lot of our defense around the freshman – it’s crazy to say that, I know. The kid [Boczek] has a lot of swagger, there’s no fear in him. That kid’s not a freshman basketball-wise, he plays like a junior or senior,” he said. “He’s a kid that every coach wants on his team, and I praise God that we have Drew Boczek.”
Three players also reached double digits for the Cee-Bees with Coltin Barr leading with 22. Mojo Chisler had 15, and Casino had 11. Both Barr and Casino fouled out in the final minutes.
“They left everything on the floor tonight,” CBHS coach Josh Kisner said. “Hats off to Trinity. They shot extremely well tonight, they put the ball in the hole. Our guys got down early, they brought it back and showed a lot of heart. That third quarter was a big difference maker [but] we couldn’t finish down the stretch.
“I appreciate the community coming out. Fantastic basketball atmosphere out here tonight. The boys played their hearts out. I’m proud of them and the season we had, I just hate to see it end a little short.”
One heck of a season
One fact has pervaded any shortcomings the Cee-Bees have had, is that this has been one of the best runs they have had in recent years.
“We really have [had a great season],” Kisner said. “This group of seniors [and juniors] stepped up as leaders. How they worked together, their accomplishments show.”
It may be too early to be thinking about the future, but top-tier coaches like Kisner are planning when their peers may not be. A few guys pop into his mind of who will lead the team, one being Chisler.
After coming back from a major injury that pulled him away from the court for an extended period, Chisler returned this season to consistently push his team in scoring, assists and rebounds. That’s something Kisner didn’t overlook.
“We’ve got a good group of juniors, and Mojo is a leader. The boys look up to him,” Kisner said. “Hopefully he can get the troops rallied. We’re going to work hard in the spring, summer and fall, and come back at it hard next year. The new classification comes out and we’ll make another run at it.”
Up next
Trinity Christian: The Warriors move on to face top-seeded Notre Dame in the sectional finals. Each team will move onto the regional finals regardless of a win or loss, but the winner gets the home-court advantage and will face the loser of the Section 2 finals.
Clay-Battelle: The Cee-Bees’ season is over.
BOX SCORE
TRINITY CHRISTIAN (12-11)
Goins 9 8-8 33; Hartsock 8 7-9 23; Kuilko 5 3-4 13; Boczek 1 1-3 4; Anderson 2 0-3 4; Moore 0 1-4 1. Totals: 25 20-31 78
CLAY-BATTELLE (18-6)
Barr 10 2-4 22; Chisler 5 4-5 15; Casino 5 0-0 11; Ammons 3 0-0 6; Statler 2 0-0 6; Carrico 2 0-0 4; Hennen 1 1-1 3; Shriver 2 0-0 2. Totals: 29 7-10 69.
TCS 29 22 10 17 – 78
CBHS 18 16 19 16 – 69
3-pointers: TCS 8 (Goins 7, Boczek); CBHS 4 (Statler 2, Casino, Chisler).
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