BLACKSVILLE, W.Va. — Seven months removed from its first state tournament appearance in school history, Cameron was eager to get its season underway Tuesday at Clay-Battelle.
The Dragons showed as much by scoring the first nine points to build a lead they’d never relinquish in a 67-47 road victory over the Cee-Bees.
“[Clay-Battelle coach Josh Kisner] always has his boys prepared and it’s always tough to play here,” Cameron coach Tom Hart said. “Our boys bent a few times, but they didn’t break. We got off to a fast start. They made a couple runs, which we expected them to do. They’re a good team and they have some really good shooters. We made some adjustments at halftime on both ends and we were able to get that lead extended out.”
Trevor Beresford, the younger brother of former West Virginia player Logan Routt, started the scoring with one of his two dunks to set the tone in the 9-0 spurt to open the game.
But Clay-Battelle, riding the hot hand of Kohlton St. Clair, hung tough and trailed 20-15 through one quarter. St. Clair made four of his five first-half 3-pointers in the opening period to keep the Cee-Bees close.
“He’s a fantastic shooter and always has been,” Kisner said. “He’s a natural scorer and does some great things out there.”
Carson Shriver’s conventional three-point play brought Clay-Battelle (2-1) to within two points early in the second quarter. The Cee-Bees trailed by three before Colson Wichterman scored five straight points to stretch the Dragons’ lead to eight.
Cameron’s advantage was seven in the final minute of the opening half before reserve Chris McCauley made a floater and Burkett capped the first-half scoring with a layup to send the Dragons into halftime leading 38-27.
“We don’t like one pass and shot. We try to play inside out,” Hart said. “We knocked down some big threes, especially in the first half. And we got the ball inside. When we went into Trevor and went into Lance [Hartley], they got doubled and tripled a couple times, but we were able to kick it out and we got some nice looks either on the immediate kick out or on the reversal.”
The Dragons attempted nine more field goals (28-19) through two quarters, thanks in large part to their ability to protect the ball and disrupt the Cee-Bees. Cameron had only three turnovers at the break, while Clay-Battelle had 12.
“Execution and experience,” Kisner said. “Both Cameron and us made the state tournament last year. The biggest difference is we graduated eight and they have a lot back. Looking at the kids on the floor tonight, they have very minimal varsity experience and that’s a big key. We’re a little short on depth right now and we’re waiting on some kids to get where they need to be.”
The Dragons were hardly threatened in the second half and began the third quarter on a 6-1 spurt aided by strong defensive play that held the Cee-Bees without a field goal until Shriver’s leaner at the 4:31 mark.
After scoring 10 points in the opening half, Beresford picked up where he left off and poured in eight in the third period, helping the Dragons take a 52-37 advantage into the fourth.
Michael Payton’s triple started the fourth-quarter scoring and brought the Cee-Bees to within 12, but they got no closer.
Beresford led all players with 23 points and made 7-of-11 field goals and 9-of-13 free throws.
Burkett scored 15 points and Wichterman contributed 13. Hartley added eight points and seven rebounds in the win.
Cameron finished with eight turnovers and forced 19.
Shriver and St. Clair led the Cee-Bees with 15 points apiece, but St. Clair was held scoreless on one field-goal attempt after halftime.
“He had five threes at half, so we made some adjustments,” Hart said. “We had a couple different guys — Wichterman and McCauley — guarding him, and they did a really good job in the second half.”
Preston Luzader had a team-high seven rebounds in the loss.