There have been plenty of great boys’ basketball teams in Bridgeport High School’s history. Certainly, the 1993 and 2001 teams immediately come to mind because they are the only two teams to ever win state championships.

 

There are several other teams, many that pre-date me that were fantastic. There were many I have witnessed that were spectacular, including the 2007 team in Class AAA featuring Division I signee Bryant Irwin that, well, lost to a team with two future NBA first round picks on its roster in the semifinals.

 

In recent years there was the 2016 team the fell to Fairmont Senior in a fantastic game that had a sour ending with a technical foul in the final seconds that put a damper on Coach Mike Robey’s team advancing to the ‘AA’ state title game. I digress.

 

I am certain many remember some of those teams and others – as noted – I did not mention or never witnessed

 

There is one team, I can say, most do not think about when talking about great teams at BHS. Perhaps it was the record. Perhaps it was because the situation said they should not be there. Perhaps it was because the Indians had won the title the year before and, well, it just was not supposed to be their year.

 

While I have thought of the team, it is not forefront in my mind when talking local hoops. Considering where they started and where they finished, the team probably deserves a little more attention.

 

The team in question is the 1993-94 Indians. I had not thought much of the team since Gene Randolph passed last year. It was Randolph’s first year as the Tribe’s head man.

 

I got into conversation about the team recently with Bridgeport’s Eric Spatafore when discussing an entirely different topic. We talked sports and this team – one in which Spatafore was the sixth man on – came up.

 

“I guess looking from the outside that year most people may have written us off,” said Spatafore. “Inside the locker room, though, we thought we could get back to the state tournament.”

 

And that was where many may have written off the ’94 Indians. They were coming off the state title that was led by state player of the year Matt Kerns who later starred at California (Pa.) and eventual Division I signee at Lafayette Russ Sickles who played a year post-graduate at the prestigious Hargrave Military Academy.

 

They were gone. As was starting point guard Adam Fowler, as good as a floor facilitator around. Also gone were key reserves and veteran Coach Bill Kerns, who called it a career in the grandest of fashions with a title on a team led by his son.

 

In his place was Randolph. He was joined by a familiar face in Billy Bennett, the assistant the prior year who had the team’s respect and knew the makeup of the group. While the cupboard was not as fully stocked as the year before, it was far from bare.

 

Two starters, southpaw Chris Taylor and post monster Eric Stoneking were back. That I remember. Spatafore helped with the rest, that included the return of Paul McKinney and Zach Anderson and some newcomers.

 

Taylor and Stoneking were joined by Jason Nicewarner, who got the nod at the point guard. McKinney was in the staring unit as was first-year athlete Joe McNamee.

 

“With Eric and Chris back, we still felt pretty good about what we had, and Jason was a good young player. Paul McKinney was talented, and Joe McNamee was an athlete that could jump out of the gym,” said Spatafore. “We felt good about our chances.”

 

Bennett knew the team was optimistic. However, he knew the schedule and how introducing new faces and young players was not going to provide the same state title expecting results.

 

“I thought it would be a struggle, primarily because of losing the ball handlers we had had in Adam and even Matt,” said Bennett, who today is the highly successful coach at Robert C. Byrd High School. “Not having them and having kids that played sparing minutes because we had a senior-laden team, made me feel there would be some struggles.

 

“At the same time, we had Chris Taylor who was as good as anyone in the area or in Class AA. We had a Stoneking who was just big and strong in the middle,” he continued. “I just felt if the guards could come along the team could be really good.”

 

That meant a lot of responsibility on Jason Nicewarner. Bennett said it was not always a work of art at first.

 

“Gene was really high on him and kind of threw him out there to the wolves and it worked. He grew up a lot. It helped him as his career went,” said Bennett. “Gene and I talked about Gene initially wanting to cut McNamee, and he turned out to be invaluable. He was a tremendous athlete. Even with that, and I may be wrong, but I think we started off strong before tailing off.”

 

Bennett was not wrong. The Indians started 9-3 in a year where most of their Harrison County foes and Big 10 opponents were loaded. The problem that may have some people not recalling just where this team ended its year was not the start of the regular season, but rather the end of it.

 

After coming out of the gates strong, the team lost seven of its last eight games. The club limped into the postseason at 10-10.

 

The lumps, said Bennett, proved valuable, especially with players like Nicewarner

 

“That season was more of a process of getting guys experience. Chris and Eric could play with anyone in the state, but the question marks were everywhere else,” said Bennett. “I remember early Jason missing a free throw that either could have tied or won the game and he hung his head. I told him to forget about it because he would have another opportunity.”

 

Bennett did not remember the game, but the opportunity arose later in the season. He said, this time, Nicewarner, knocked it down.

 

“That was an example, particularly at our guard position, of the kids growing up by tournament time,” said Bennett. “By tournament time, the record may not have shown it, but we had learned to play together.”

 

Spatafore said the players still felt good about getting back to Charleston. Part of it was a path that only required two games to get there and two opponents they had faced – Lincoln, who BHS split with during the regular season in the sectional and then South Harrison, a team the Tribe swept, in the regional final.

 

“We took three out of four against those teams, so we knew we were in good position to get to Charleston,” said Spatafore. “Even when we got to Charleston, we felt good about our draw. Even though you’re not supposed to look ahead we knew who would be waiting for us if we won the opener and if there was ever doubt that crept it, it was with who we were supposed to face in the semifinals.”

 

The Indians won the sectional and regional games and opened up the tournament with Tyler Consolidated. Bridgeport won 57-50 to advance to face one of the state’s top teams in Winfield.

 

There was only one problem – Winfield never got there. The Generals were upended by Tucker County in an opening round upset.

 

The better news was BHS did not look past Tucker County. Bridgeport took a 66-38 victory. Incredibly, the Tribe pulled out their biggest margin of victory in the ‘AA’ semifinal.

 

The Indians were back to the title game. And they did it by doing something they had not done all year – they won four straight games.

 

“Looking back, I think playing so many teams that were good that year like Liberty and WI (Washington Irving) who were both ‘AAA’ at the time, and so many others like East Fairmont and Preston that it helped,” said Spatafore. “Learning how to play for Gene, who was so intense, worked too with his structured practices that were defensive oriented. The state title game was the payoff. The thing was, at that point, we felt we could win the title.”

 

Spatafore knew it was going to be a chore. Bennett knew it too. Waiting on the other side of the bracket was Oceana. It was the same Oceana BHS beat the previous year for the title, and the same Oceana that had nearly its entire team back.

 

“We were in the game and led in the first quarter, before they had about a 13-point lead in the third quarter,” said Spatafore. “I remember battling back and getting as close as about four points, maybe six, before coming up short.”

 

The team fell 68-61. The same team that was .500 a few weeks prior, fell seven points shy of back-to-back championships.

 

“I was proud to have been a member of that team; still am. We played our finest basketball at the right time and gave Oceana a battle in another game where it’s likely few outside of our own felt we had a chance,” said Spatafore. “We always felt we had a chance because expectations were high at Bridgeport in everything.”

 

Like Spatafore, Bennett talked about the payoff.

 

“Oceana had the advantage because of so much experience and just a great team, but it was still hard to get that close and lose,” said Bennett. “It’s been more and more gratifying as the years go by to really look at it to see what the team accomplished. It says a lot the kids trusted us and put in the work and believed there was a payoff. They didn’t get the ultimate payoff, but it paid off.”

 

Indeed, it did. A lackluster regular season followed by a postseason that puts this team in history.

 

“Few can say they were able to go that far,” said Spatafore.

 

He is not wrong. There are only three teams ever to get to the state title game, and the 1994 team is one of them. Do not forget that.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Chris Taylor taking it to the basket against Philip Barbour in the regular season, while Eric Stoneking is shown in the second photo going up for a shot against Oceana in the state title game. Third photo shows Paul McKinney going strong to the basket in the 'AA' semifinal against Tucker Countyl. Whlie thte bottom photo is a team shot of the 1993-94 Indians. First three photos courtesy of the Bridgeport High School Journalism Department, while the bottom photo of the team is courtesy of Eric Spatafore.