TENNERTON – The 2023 CEC Upshur County Summer Basketball League wrapped up its season on Thursday with the Division I and Division II finals and the league’s championship game at the Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School gym.

In the Division I final, On Point Athletics downed KBAM Builders by a 55-39 score as Malahci Watson led On Point Athletics with 22 points while KBAM Builders was paced by Nate Smarr’s 10 points.

In the Division II final, TLM Management gave Ralph’s Furniture there first loss of the year with a 64-56 victory.

Isaac Walker had a team-high 18 points for TLM Management in the win while Jordan Haywood had a game-high 21 points for Ralph’s Furniture.

In the title game, On Point Athletics took a 31-27 lead at the half over TLM Management but a second half rally by TLM Management gave them a 70-63 victory and the league title.

Derek Sevier led TLM Management with 24 points while Watson had a game-high 27 points for On Point Athletics.

Mitchell Shaw, director of the league, said the 2023 season was a success.

“It was a hectic season for sure, it went by quick, it feels like it just started, but at the same time it felt like the longest season ever,” joked Shaw. “We couldn’t have done it without the help of West Virginia Wesleyan College. The first couple of weeks it was raining every day, so we had to be indoors a lot. In the past it had been a struggle to find a gym. We had a lot of help from Wesleyan, and we appreciate that. We were also able this summer to use the middle school gym with the help of their athletic director Trevor Mouser. If we didn’t have the indoor space this year this season might still be going on. We crammed a lot of basketball in a short period of time and it really worked out well.”

Shaw gave props to the new league champs TLM Management.

“There was an incident in the first week where their team got into a scuffle with another team and both teams were given a forfeit loss,” noted Shaw. “They were ready to leave the league, but we talked to them and cooler heads prevailed. We discussed with them that it will be better if they stayed and kept playing and they all wanted to do that. We never had any problems after that, and it worked out well for them winning the championship.”

Shaw said he is looking for even bigger and better things for next year.

“I have been excited with the growth of this league,” stated Shaw. “It will be interesting to see how much further it can grow in the future. As long as we can still have the support of the community, I think the league will continue to grow and be a valuable thing for our community. I would also like to give a huge shoutout to all the sponsors who made it possible. Without the support of all these local businesses, this wouldn’t as well as it does.”