2026 Boys WVCAT Championship: Greater Beckley Christian wins back-to-back titles

Boys Basketball

February 22, 2026•3 min read

Crusaders start fast to run past Summit Christian 75-57 for their sixth WVCAT crown

The cast of characters were different, but the result was the same.

Entering the 2026 Boys West Virginia Christian Athletic Tournament as the reigning champions, Greater Beckley Christian used some new faces and hot shooting to duplicate last year's feat with a solid 75-57 win over Summit Christian Academy.

Greater Beckley Christian head coach Justin Arvon, after being hit with a water and Gatorade bath celebration, discussed winning back-to-back titles.

The Falcons scored first on a quick bucket at the rim by Kyler Carpenter, but for the next nearly eight minutes it was scoring frenzy for the Crusaders.

Freshman Iziah Gordon evened the game with a jumper in the lane before Jabari Spencer gave Greater Beckley the lead for good with a pair of free throws less than a minute into the contest.

With the lead in hand, the defending champions shifted into high gear.

A nice outlet pass down the floor from senior Eli Gunter resulted in a layup for Jabari Spencer and a 6-2 lead.

Older brother Javonte Spencer added to the advantage when he nailed a contested floater across the lane ahead of another Gunter to Jabari Spencer connection for a 10-2 advantage.

Coming out of a timeout, the Falcons went back to Carpenter who scored on a strong drive to the basket, but it was merely a small break in the Crusaders' early onslaught.

Gordon quickly answered with a short jumper and when Jabari Spencer scored off of an offensive rebound, Greater Beckley led 14-6.

Following the two assists to Spencer, Gunter was the recipient of a solid pass from Gordon, nailing a corner 3-ball midway through the opening quarter.

Gordon then moved the lead to 22-6 with a 3-pointer from the top of the key and an elbow jumper.

Dylan Jones snapped the Summit Christian scoring drought at the 1:45 mark of the first quarter, but when the horn sounded, Greater Beckley was still ahead, 24-12.

Early in the second period the scoring stalled for the Crusaders, allowing Summit to pull within nine points on a drive from Eli Patton with 5:41 to play in the half.

Gunter and Javonte Spencer, however, re-energized the Crusaders who stepped on the gas pedal for a commanding advantage at the break.

Spencer scored eight points the rest of the second stanza and Gunter drilled a pair of backbreaking 3-balls leading to a 42-23 margin.

The Falcons cut into the lead on a pair of occasions in the second half, but could not get the game back inside single digits over the final two quarters.

Summit Christian head coach Matt Patton discussed advancing to the championship game Saturday, one year after his team was knocked out by Greater Beckley in the 2025 WVCAT semifinals.

Gordon led all scorers with 26 points, while Jabari had 19 and Javonte scored 17.

Patton scored 24 points and Carpenter finished with 18 points for Summit. Dylan Jones had eight and Adam Jones seven.

Gordon and Javonte Spencer, along with Patton and Carpenter were named to the All-Tournament team.

Gunter, who was named the MVP of the Tournament, scored 13 points after pouring in 23 points Friday night in the win over Grace Christian in the semifinals.

The senior leader talked about winning back-to-back titles.

Tournament MVP: Eli Gunter

All-Tournament Team

Landon Cormican (Victory Baptist), Aleska Djuric (Grace Christian), Owen Good (Calvary Baptist), Caleb Skeens (Calvary Baptist), Kyler Carpenter (Summit Christian), Eli Patton (Summit Christian), Iziah Gordon (Greater Beckley), Javonte Spencer (Greater Beckley), Andrew Payne (Teays Valley Christian).