BLACKSVILLE, W.Va. — It certainly felt like a long, long, coming.
The senior laden No. 5 Clay-Battelle boys’ team — tall, talented, tenacious and most of all, team-oriented — fulfilled its promise Wednesday night, defeating Madonna 73-51 to capture the Class A Region I co-championship and qualifying for its first state tournament since 2014.
Plagued by sluggish starts all season, the Cee-Bees’ top scorer, Morgan “Mojo” Chisler, was not going to let that happen, as he burst out of the gates with 16 first-quarter points, including three 3-pointers plus a 3 for 3 foul-shot conversion when he was nailed during another attempt from beyond the arc. The 6-foot-5 senior led the way to a 20-13 CB lead after one.
Madonna (8-10) quickly fell behind by double digits at 25-13, but behind strong play down low from burly forward Lucky Pulice, the Blue Dons would not go down without a battle, as they scratched back on a 7-0 run to pull within five at 25-20.
However, the resilient Cee-Bees (15-2), who seemed to get just the right contribution from just the right spot on the floor at just the right time all season, made it happen again, this time with a pair of critical bombs from senior Gage Statler to restore the lead back to eight at 33-25 at the break.
In the third quarter, with Chisler occupying two and sometimes three Blue Dons defenders, it was fellow senior big man Gavin Moore’s turn to crank it up offensively, as he swished a 3, then hit a pair of layups and drew several fouls, allowing C-B to extend the lead to 13 at 49-36 heading into the fourth.
A no-look dish from Chisler to Moore, a layup from solid senior forward Tanner Hennen and a final triple from Chisler (who led all scorers with 24) early in the final frame put this one away, and a few short, satisfying minutes later, the Cee-Bees were posing for pictures with their championship plaque and cutting down the nets.
“We really wanted to jump on them early, and when it was clear that Mojo was on, we made sure to get him the ball where he likes to shoot it,” senior point guard and floor general Chase Ammons said. “We’ve been playing together so long that we can kind of tell when somebody’s feeling it — like Gavin in the third quarter — so it’s the guards’ job to find them and feed them.
“We have tried so hard the last three years to make this final step to get to Charleston and there’s no doubt that this was what we were shooting for this season, for sure. It feels great to get it done.”
C-B coach Josh Kisner considered this group of seniors (Chisler, Moore, Ammons, Hennen, Statler, Cooper Watson and Austin Piper) “very special,” and knew they were capable of making it happen this year if given the chance.
“We had a special group last year as well,” Kisner said, “and we felt good about our chances heading into this season. They all do such a great job of sharing the basketball, coming ready to play every night, working hard to be the best they can be, and our emotions were especially high for this one. I’m very proud of them. We’re just so glad we had a season to play, and we’re so glad we get to keep playing.”
Clay-Battelle has been installed as the No. 5 seed in Class A and will face No. 4 Webster County at 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Gage Statler moves the ball forward. CBHS VS MHS 4-28-21 GH 
Tanner Hennen shoots a free throw. CBHS VS MHS 4-28-21 GH 
Tanner Hennen passes the ball while Matthew Amaismeier and Evan Bone block. CBHS VS MHS 4-28-21 GH 
Chase Ammons moves the ball forward. CBHS VS MHS 4-28-21 GH 
Morgan Chisler looks to shoot. CBHS VS MHS 4-28-21 GH
MADONNA (8-10)
Mark Pietranton 1 0-0 2 Santino Arlia 3 0-0 7 Lennon Dietrich 1 1-2 3 Matt Amaismeier 5 3-3 17 Lucky Pulice 3 6-8 12 Evan Bone 4 1-2 10 Totals 17 11-15 51.
CLAY-BATTELLE (15-2)
Gage Statler 2 2-2 8 Chase Ammons 2 5-6 9 Gavin Moore 8 2-3 19 Drew Boczek 0 1-2 1 Tanner Hennen 4 3-5 12 Morgan Chisler 8 3-3 24 Totals 24 16-21 73
Madonna 13 12 11 15 – 51
Clay-Battelle 20 13 16 24 – 73
3-pointers: MHS 6 (Amaismeier 4, Arlia, Bone), CB 8 (Statler 2, Chisler 4, Moore, Hennen)
