Ravenswood’s Matthew Carte prepares on defense during a game earlier this season at The Pit in Ravenswood. Carte was named the Little Kanawha Conference Player of the Year. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

PARKERSBURG — The Little Kanawha Conference was represented by five members at the boys state basketball tournament.

Although the LKC didn’t bring back any team hardware, Williamstown had its second undefeated regular season in school history and won the conference tournament while Ravenswood, South Harrison, Webster County and Wahama also danced in Charleston.

Head coach Mick Price’s Red Devils (19-6) drew the No. 6 seed and bowed out 49-43 to eventual Class AA state champion and third-seeded Chapmanville, which cut down the nets after finishing off Charleston Catholic, 59-49.

Williamstown, which boasted LKC Coach of the Year Scott Sauro, won 25 straight before being upset by No. 4 Charleston Catholic in the semifinals, 57-54.

After an arduous campaign, league coaches honored Ravenswood’s Matthew Carte as the LKC Player of the Year.

The Red Devil senior is the lone three-peat on the all-LKC first team.

He led RHS to a 71-49 LKC consolation game victory against Webster County at the Waco Center and helped the Jackson County program qualify to Charleston for the second straight year.

“He’s got some schools that are looking at him right now,” coach Price said of Carte, the Red Devils’ fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,499 points.

“He’s made some tentative visits. I think he’s still open. It’s just going to depend. We’re in a time now where they all go get JUCO guys. He’ll land somewhere.”

Not only does Carte rank fifth in school history for assists (332), seventh in steals (177) and 14th in rebounds (494), he shot 52% from the field as a senior, 76% at the line and averaged 22.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2 steals.

“He’s a good kid. Really worked hard. Definitely a gym rat and he’s deserving of everything,” added Price, who watched Carte score 30-plus six times this season and could utilize him defensively anywhere on the court. “He played a lot of positions for us. He played inside. He did a lot of just playing in the post area. He’s not really a post player, but he did that for us. We’re lucky to have someone like him. He was always guarded by the best defensive player on the other team.

“For him to average the number of points he did and with his leadership and the way he played, he’s deserving of it. Things weren’t exactly great when he was a freshman. It was ugly, but we knew we had a bunch of young kids that needed to play. Yes, he’s a good basketball player. Yes, he’s improved constantly on his game and is always working at it, but he’s a better person, too. Really matured and improved. Sometimes he could be tough to handle when he was younger. He’s matured and gotten better. I’m really proud of the young man he has become.”

Alex Irvin of the Yellowjackets was one of five players to earn repeat honors on the first team. Despite averaging 18.5 minutes a game for a WHS squad which routinely played double digit players in the first quarter, Irvin put up 16 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals and better than a block an outing. He canned 46 treys at 38%, shot 52% from the floor and 73% at the free-throw line.

South Harrison’s Corey Boulden led the Hawks to a runner-up LKC showing and into the state tournament before falling to Charleston Catholic in the quarterfinals. The senior averaged better than 23 points a game.

Irvin and Boulden were joined as repeat first team picks alongside Ritchie County senior Ethan Haught (21.6 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 4.6 apg, 3.7 spg, 45% FG), St. Marys senior Luke Powell (17.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 2.0 bpg, 48% FG, 63% FT) and Wahama junior Sawyer VanMatre, who led the White Falcons to the Class A tournament by averaging nearly 17 points.

Webster County, which joined Wahama in the single-A state field, landed juniors Rayden Triplett (17.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.4 apg, 2.0 spg, 40% FG, 71% FT) and Riley Clevenger (16.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.2 spg, 44% FG, 69% FT) on the first unit.

The lone sophomore on the first team was Williamstown’s Parker Schramm. Aside from taking a team-high five charges, he knocked down 87% at the charity stripe, drained 60 treys at 36%, shot 45% from the floor and averaged 16.5 points, 3.8 boards, 2.4 dimes and a trio of steals.

Also earning first team accolades were South Harrison senior Noah Burnside (18.3 ppg), Doddridge County junior Brandon Hileman (15.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.9 spg, 40% FG, 77% FT, 52 3s at 34%) and Wirt County 11th-grader Connor Hoover (13.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.0 apg, 0.8 spg, 1.2 bpg, 48% FG, 75% FT).

The second team was led by Ravenswood senior captain Drew Hunt. Fellow Red Devil Beau Bennett is joined on the second unit by Braxton County’s Landon Stewart, Tyler Consolidated all-time assists leader Connor Bailey, Parkersburg Catholic’s Blake Lewis, Roane County’s Cobun Cottrell, Williamstown’s Jayden Bryant, South Harrison’s Austin Peck, Ritchie County’s Isaac Hodges, Wahama’s Ethan Gray as well as Calhoun County teammates Levi Morris and Landon Bennett.

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com