Bluefield 60, James Monroe 52

[Bluefield_Rules 46]

Bluefield moves to 7-1, James Monroe falls to 7-2. Dexter Moore led Bluefield with 20 points, Ansel Ponder added 19. Corey Bradley led Monroe with 20 points including 5 3-pointers.

[wvu_1 10]

of this one, and I'm not talking about the bench.

Bring it on to the Jungle.

[BHS85 10]

For a freshman, Craig Ponder is the man. Keep it up bud.

[bluefieldRocks 14]

what are you talking about bring it to the jungle?

 

Sloppy and pourly played game tonight. Both teams looked sloppy. JM jumped out to a quick lead going up to about as much as 7. Terrible officiating tonight of both sides of the ball. More bad calls towards james monroes side. But they were double-dribbles, walks, and stuff like that. Its nothing that wasnt obvious

 

Good win for the beavers, battled back and won it. Very intresting game

[dinkman 14]

bluefield must be good in basketball

[bluefieldRocks 14]

Were one of the best teams in the state in AA. If not the best

[Guest JJBrickface]

[ QUOTE ]

Were one of the best teams in the state in AA. If not the best

 

[/ QUOTE ]

 

We are still lacking what we need to be great though. We have players that have a lot of potential but their game is so raw. Hopefully it will all come together by March.

[bluefieldRocks 14]

It just seems to me like these opponents they think they can crush easily. Thats there mindset going into the game. They need to treat every opponent as if there whole season was on the line. They dont do that, so when they get down in a game. They get shocked, then i suppose it starts to hit them and they usually comeback. We didnt blow our lead we had this game. We could have beaten logan by 10+, but we let them come back

[RenegadeFan 10]

well here is hoping they have that mind set next week against Westside, the young Renegades need a confidence booster via a win over one of the bigger boys of AA, oi course i know it wont be and that Bluefield will be more than up and ready for this game, if nothing else to take the loss to Logan out against another top 5 team in AA themselves.

 

none the less i look forward to the game and the trip.

might need to get directions to the BSC, i've never been there!

 

came down to Bluefield once, to the semifinal Blfd/WS football game, but didnt drive, thus didnt pay attention to how we got there.

 

anyways, i look for Blfd. to take the game.

if nothing else on the fact they have a lot better PG than what WS could ever dream of having.

[Guest JJBrickface]

[ QUOTE ]

It just seems to me like these opponents they think they can crush easily. Thats there mindset going into the game. They need to treat every opponent as if there whole season was on the line. They dont do that, so when they get down in a game. They get shocked, then i suppose it starts to hit them and they usually comeback. We didnt blow our lead we had this game. We could have beaten logan by 10+, but we let them come back

 

[/ QUOTE ]

 

You are right, we have had that mindset for a while now. Back in 2003, we barely beat Pikeview in the sectionals and then loss to Independence in the regionals and that team was very talented.

[bluefieldRocks 14]

If you need any directions let me know man. Its really not hard to get to BSC..

[RenegadeFan 10]

i'd be willing to say if im not able to car pool with someone to the game, that i will have to get directions.

 

i know how to get to Princeton real well, but never had to go any further south, unless going out of state.

 

i went to Graham, VA and watched Westside/Graham in Westside's first or second yr of existance, but couldnt remember how to get their if my life depended out.

 

so as i said if i'm not able to car pool with someone, i'll more than likely be asking for the directions.

[GMan 3,569]

Beavers pull away from Mavs

 

By BRIAN WOODSON

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

 

BLUEFIELD — Dexter Moore’s late-game heroics weren’t needed in this one.

 

Moore scored 20 points, Ansel Ponder added 19, and Bluefield forced 29 turnovers, pulling away for a hard-fought 60-52 win over James Monroe on Friday night at Bluefield State’s Ned Shott Gymnasium.

 

Bluefield (7-1) was coming off a heart-breaking loss to Logan last Saturday, but were able to get back to their winning ways against the Mavericks.

 

“We had to get back on the winning track,” said Moore, who drove the length of the floor and hit a game-winning layup against James Monroe in last year’s sectional finals. “That game is over with, we’re moving on.”

 

James Monroe (7-2), whose only other loss was a six-point decision at Princeton, was hampered by turnovers and foul trouble. The Mavericks will welcome Bluefield to Lindside on Feb. 9.

 

“It’s going to be a good game, they’re a really good team,” James Monroe head coach Jason Mathis said. “I’m not sure if we can beat them. We might not be able to beat them to be honest about it, they’re a really good team.”

 

Bluefield head coach Ernie Gilliard felt the same about the Mavs after a game that saw 10 lead changes, with the Beavers finally getting the advantage for good at 45-44 on a Dexter Moore driving layup with 7:20 left in the final quarter.

 

“Let me tell you something, my hats off to coach Mathis and his team and his staff,” Gilliard said. “They had an excellent game plan coming in, their kids are playing fantastic basketball right now, but our kids did a super, super job.”

 

Three 3s by Cory Bradley to start the game gave the Mavericks an early 9-2 lead, and they maintained the lead until Ansel Ponder scored five straight points to start the second quarter to knot the score at 19-19.

 

The lead changed five more times until freshman Craig Ponder came off the bench, hitting a 3 and making four free throws to push the Beavers to a 33-28 lead at the break.

 

“Craig is a very skilled freshman,” said Moore, who had 10 of his 20 points at the break. “When he gets in the game we know it’s not going to slow us up any.”

 

Bradley, who finished with five 3s and 20 points, had four fouls at the break, while Joseph Haynes had three. The Mavs also committed 16 turnovers in the initial 16 minutes.

 

“I think our foul trouble in the first quarter really hurt us and even in the second half,” Mathis said. “We’re going to have to learn how to play a little bit better and smarter defense..., and we’re going to have to turn down on our turnovers.

 

“That’s something we’ve been doing the last couple of games, but we dragged a few feet today. My kids played really hard, I’m extremely proud of the way they came out here and played.”

 

James Monroe was able to cut the margin to 43-41 heading into the final quarter, and then Ernie Tincher hit a 3 to put the Mavericks on top. From there, Bluefield turned up the defense, going on a game-deciding 9-0 run.

 

“That’s our trademark, the team that plays solid defense generally fares well,” said Gilliard, whose Beavers host Shady Spring on Tuesday.

 

“We had to step out on the shooters because Bradley was making a lot of 3-pointers so we just had to find the shooters and step up the defensive intensity,” added Moore. “We like to put pressure and run, that’s our style of basketball.

 

“We picked it up down the stretch, the last few minutes of the game are a crucial part of a basketball game.”

 

Moore, Ansel Ponder and Turquan Casey all hit field goals during the deciding run, while Shaun Brooks swiped an inbounds pass, hit a layup and then hit a free throw after being fouled.

 

“Bluefield plays extremely tough defense, they are very quick and athletic and coach has them doing a really good job of moving their feet and getting to the spots where they’re supposed to get,” Mathis said. “We definitely have to credit the defense of Bluefield for our turnovers, they’re a really good team.”

 

A drive to the hoop by Taylor Robertson cut Bluefield’s lead to 56-52 with 1:14 left, but Ansel Ponder responded with the final two buckets of the game. Ponder scored 12 of his points in the second half.

 

“We knew they were going to come out with a lot of emotion and a lot of adrenaline and play well,” Gilliard said. “...We just wanted to match that intensity. It was a little slow start, but we got it together.”

 

Bluefield hit 15-of-19 from the charity stripe, while the Mavs were just 3-of-8. Moore added four assists and three steals for the Beavers, while Ansel Ponder and Casey had four rebounds apiece. Casey also had three steals.

 

Jason Jackson led James Monroe with nine rebounds, while Matt Bumgardner added nine points and seven boards. Taylor Robertson and Mitch Tuggle had four assists apiece.

 

JAMES MONROE (7-2)

Cory Bradley 7 1-2 20, Joseph Haynes 1 0-0 2, Mitch Tuggle 1 0-0 2, Jason Jackson 2 0-0 2, Matt Bumgardner 4 1-4 9, Taylor Robertson 3 0-0 6, Brian Belcher 0 1-2 1, Eli Bookout 1 0-0 2, Ernie Tincher 2 0-0 6. Totals 21 3-8 52.

 

BLUEFIELD (7-1)

Kyle Hammond 1 0-0 2, Ansel Ponder 8 3-3 19, Shaun Brooks 2 2-4 6, Dexter Moore 7 6-6 2, Chance Cottrell 2 0-0 4, Craig Ponder 1 4-4 7, Justin Harris 0 0-2 0, Turquan Casey 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 15-19 60

 

James Monroe..............19 9 13 11 — 52

Bluefield.................14 19 10 17 — 60

 

3-point goals: JM 7 (Bradley 5, Tincher 2); BF 1 (C.Ponder 1). Total fouls: JM 20; BF 13. Fouled out: none. JV—BF 61-49.

[Bluefield_Rules 46]

I'm honestly glad to see James Monroe put a competitive team on the court because facing better teams will only help Bluefield down the road. I think the game against JM last year in sectionals helped propell Bluefield into that state title game and nearly the state title.

[RenegadeFan 10]

well its as i said over on your site BR

"my hats off to Jason Mathis"

i mean i think its just incredible what he's done with a team/school who was never really known for its basketball talent.

i mean i always knew Jason was a special kind of player, when he played at Oceana, but never really knew how he'd do as a coach, ya know?

but he has succeeded all expectations IMO, Wyo. Co. and Oceana/Jim Hopkins and Larry Mathis (Jasons dad) in general should be proud of ol Jaybird.

i think the only way it could be or get any better is if Jason was coaching somewhere like Westside, lol.

 

but i do i congradulate Jason on what he's accomplished at JM and wish him nothing but continued success.

[bluefieldRocks 14]

that #10 on James Monroe, the one who hit 5 three pointers. He's one the better players i've saw this season.