BLACKSVILLE – If you were taking stats for the Class A Region I boys basketball matchup between Clay-Battelle and St. Mary’s on Thursday night, you probably would’ve come close to filling an entire page for the hosting Cee-Bees.
Head coach Josh Kisner’s crew started fast and finished faster, racing past the visiting Blue Devils 83-49 in Blacksville inside the Statler-Wilson Gymnasium.
Clay-Battelle opened with a 21-3 lead after the opening quarter and never looked back on its way to the Region I co-championship against 3-seed Ritchie County next Wednesday, March 11, in Blacksville.
“These guys have been focused and locked in this week,” Kisner said. “New season started today, and it was good to see them ready to get after it.”
The home team did nothing short of stuffing the stat sheet with three double-figure scorers and nine different players getting a bucket.
Senior Cooper Payton led the charge for Clay-Battelle (17-6) with 21 points, connecting on 10 of his 13 shot attempts. Fellow senior and recent 1,000-point career scorer, Trey Huggins, and freshman Maddox Kisner each added 16.
But the highlight of the evening may have been senior guard Braden Ponceroff, who nearly had a triple-double without the points stat.
Ponceroff scored five points for the Cee-Bees with two tough finishes at the rim, including a conventional 3-point play, but his impact came in the hustle department, where he dished 12 assists, grabbed 10 rebounds, and swiped seven steals. He also turned away a shot attempt in the second half with a thunderous rejection on a fastbreak by St. Mary’s (2-22).
“He’s been doing this since his sophomore season, honestly,” Kisner said. “He started putting in the hard work as a sophomore and has such a talented group around him that he finds ways to get the ball to. He’s a coach on the floor for us, telling people where to go if we draw up a play. Stats don’t always show it, but he truly is a special player.”
The Blue Devils managed only one field goal in the opening 10 minutes of the contest, a 3-pointer by freshman Trevor Maley, as Clay-Battelle used its defense to build a 36-15 halftime advantage.
Along with Ponceroff’s seven steals, the Cee-Bees earned nine more in the game, allowing the fastbreak to develop and swell the lead.
Even as St. Mary’s began the second half as the better team, scoring 24 points in the third frame, Clay-Battelle was equal to the task, pouring in 27 in the penultimate quarter.
“We were fortunate to get the two-seed, and it’s great to be able to play on our home floor twice,” Kisner said. “We appreciate the fans so much; they always come out and support our team each and every game, and hopefully we can go and give them one more reason to cheer next week.”
BOX SCORE
Clay-Battelle 83, St. Mary’s 49
SM 3 12 24 10 – 49
CB 21 15 27 20 – 83
CLAY-BATTELLE (17-6) – Payton 10 1-1 21 T. Huggins 7 1-2 16 Kisner 7 0-0 16 J. Huggins 2 2-2 8 Sandy 4 0-0 8 Ponceroff 2 1-2 5 Coen 2 2-3 6 Sleeth 1 0-0 2 Bane 0 1-2 1 TOTALS 35 8-13 83
ST. MARYS (2-22) – Bills 5 1-2 11 Maley 3 0-0 9 Barnard 3 1-4 9 Anderson 3 3-4 9 Maston 3 1-2 8 Morrison 0 3-4 3 TOTALS 17 9-14 49
3pt goals made – Clay-Battelle 5 (Kisner 2 J. Huggins 2 T. Huggins 1); St. Mary’s 6 (Maley 3 Barnard 2 Maston 1).
