FAIRMONT, W.Va. — Bridgeport entered Wednesday’s contest at East Fairmont 3-1 in one possession games, a mark that included a come-from-behind three-point win against James Monroe in its last outing.
So when the Indians found themselves tied at 51 with the Bees as time was winding down in regulation, it was a familiar setting, and one the defending Class AAA state champion has grown comfortable with.
That was again the case at EFHS, with Gavin Williams coming up with a steal, driving nearly the length of the court and drawing a shooting foul with 0.2 seconds left that led to him making two free throws just before time expired and lifting the Tribe to its 11th straight victory, 53-51.
“A lack of panic and we had composure,” Indians’ head coach Dave Marshall said. “There’s been a growth in maturity.”
The entire fourth quarter was played within one possession and began with the Bees (12-3) in front, 43-40.
Anderson McDougal accounted for the first two field goals of the fourth to put BHS (13-2) on top by a point, and though the Bees regained their three-point advantage not long after, they squandered a chance to add to what was a 47-45 lead when Cayden Cooper missed two free throws. Williams followed with a three-pointer on the other end, allowing the visitors to lead by one with 2:35 left.
“I told the guys, ‘forget the ending, you have to make those plays in the final minutes.’ Those are winning plays,” Bees’ head coach Carter DeVault said. “They don’t seem like much on a stat sheet, but finding a way to come up with that loose ball or get one of those defensive rebounds in a big moment is as good as getting a bucket. Bridgeport made those few plays and we didn’t.”
Cooper’s challenged bucket out of a timeout allowed the Bees to lead by one, though McDougal answered with a reverse layup to put Bridgeport in front, 50-49.
The last Bees’ lead came at 51-50 after Hudson Brand scored on a drive to the bucket, and McDougal pulled Bridgeport even at 51 when he hit the first of two free throws.
Brand was then set to try and win it late for the Bees before Williams stripped him.
“He gave me a hard jab and I fell for it a little bit on the right, but I caught back up to him,” Williams said. “He kind of pulled up and as soon as I saw the ball come up, I reached my hand out, took the ball and went.”
Late sequence in Bridgeport’s 53-51 win at East Fairmont where Gavin Williams comes up with a steal with the game tied at 51 and is then fouled on a drive to the basket, setting up his 2 free throws with 0.2 seconds remaining. #wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/oTPPCGEZvF
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) February 5, 2026
Williams, also a football standout, then came up clutch at the charity stripe.
“Take three deep breaths and it’s another shot. We couldn’t lose in that situation, so just tried to sink the foul shots, get the game over with and let’s go home,” he said.
Two free throws from Gavin Williams with 0.2 seconds left in Bridgeport’s 53-51 win at East Fairmont. #wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/YpXswd6NCD
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) February 5, 2026
While Marshall didn’t necessarily expect the Indians to get the ball back and win in regulation, he was comfortable with Williams defending Brand in the pivotal moment.
“I wouldn’t want Gavin guarding me. We feel he’s an elite defender,” Marshall said. “We feel like if there was an all-defensive team in the state, he’d be on it. We understand who he is and everybody around him understands who he is, and that’s what he brings to the table.”
It was a strong start for Bridgeport, which led 9-1 and 14-3, before settling for a 16-10 advantage through one quarter.
“I didn’t think it was anything we did poorly. We just didn’t make shots,” said DeVault, whose team shot 4 for 12 from the field in the opening frame. “We miss things we usually make and we made as the game went. We still have to be a little bit better on the defensive end out of the gate.”
The Bees pulled to within two on four occasions in the second quarter, the last of which came after Cooper canned a triple that trimmed the Tribe lead to 24-22.
McDougal’s jumper marked the final points of the first half and allowed BHS to lead 31-26 at halftime.
The Indians went to halftime shooting 12 for 22 and with five treys, while McDougal had six points and six assists through two periods.
“It felt like they were shooting it really well and we couldn’t make anything, so it was kind of a win to be down five,” DeVault said.
But the Bees were buzzing throughout much of the third quarter and ran off 10 consecutive points after trailing 35-28. That stretch featured a driving basket by River McClain, three straight buckets from Brand and a Jaxon Conaway layup that left the home team with a three-point advantage.
Brand’s trey with 55 seconds left in the third enabled East Fairmont to hold its largest lead at 43-37, before BHS freshman Daniel Riley answered with an important trey that cut his team’s deficit in half ahead of the fourth.
McDougal finished with 16 points and seven assists. Williams added 12 points.
Cooper scored 16, Brand contributed 14 and McClain added 10 in defeat.
The Bees shot better than 53 percent from the field (22 for 41) but made only 3-of-10 free throws as their win streak ended at 11 games.
“We were fortunate to make one more play than they did tonight,” Marshall said. “If those two teams played each other ten times, we might be fortunate to go 5-5.”