Shady Spring – Beckley senior Jaylon Walton has become quite fond of Dave Wills Gymnasium at Shady Spring High School.
He ended Shady’s home winning streak that spanned half decade this past winter and Saturday he earned another monumental victory, leading the Class A-AAAA Mid-State All-Stars past the Class A-AAAA C. Adam Toney All-stars 116-90 in the Little General-Scott Brown Memorial Classic Saturday at Shady Spring.
Walton poured in a game-high 22 points to go along with 12 rebounds, earning MVP honors for his efforts.
“I like playing down here,” Walton smiled. “It’s always competition in the Shady gym. We talk about having fun and we went out there and had fun just playing around and it means a lot to win the award here.”
Much like he was throughout his high school career, Walton was efficient, nailing all nine of his shots in the effort with 13 of his points coming in the first half. He proved to be a tank for Mid-State, which placed six in double figures.
Trailing by 19 points in the first half, C. Adam Toney sparked a rally behind the sharp shooting of Herbert Hoover standout Donovan Brown who nailed two 3-pointers to help quell the storm. He was part of balanced effort, led by Shady Spring’s Jalon Bailey, that helped the Class AA-AAA team cut the deficit to 13 at the break.
But the athleticism and high-flying exploits of Morgantown’s Demarcus Bandy and South Charleston’s Roman Kellum were too much. Bandy came away with a trio of dunks while Kellum notched two of his own with the pair proving troublesome at the rim.
“It really is a privilege to have them on your team,” Mid-State and George Washington head coach Rick Greene said. “I know I walk into that room and I respect them,” Green said. “I hope there’s a mutual respect and I feel like we’re all competitors and now to be on the same side and watch Walton kill people inside. It’s enjoyable. Demarcus dominated as well and that’s a lot of fun. But the most fun is you realizer they’re competitors you’ve really had to go against them and now you can be with them in a much more relaxed environment and get to know them in a different way.”
Greene’s squad held serve the rest of the way, expanding its lead throughout the second half on the back of its three post standouts.
Kellum finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds while Capital’s Grant Barclay netted 19 on five makes from distance. Bandy finished with 17 while Morgantown’s Marty Johnson netted 18. Joining those five in double figures was Greater Beckley all-stater Drew Fitzwater with 11.
Brown led the Class AA-AAA squad with 15 points while Shady’s Khi Olson (13), Bailey (12) and Summit Christian’s Chance Watkins (10) all scored in double figures.
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Barclay won the 3-point competition while Bandy edged Kellum in the dunk contest.
