CHAPMANVILLE — It was a bummer of a game last Saturday night as the undefeated Chapmanville Regional High School boys’ basketball team was handed its first loss of the season by Sissonville at the CRHS gym.

The Indians prevailed, 55-54, scoring the game winning 3-point bucket from the wing with 2.8 seconds left by Lucas Walker. It ended up being Sissonville’s only lead of the ballgame.

The breaks just didn’t seem to go the Tigers’ way for the bulk of the night.

Several questionable or at least 50-50 calls seemed to work against Chapmanville for most of the game.

The Tigers also missed three key front ends of one-and-one free throws in the game’s final two minutes.

Chapmanville’s leading scorer and 6-foot-3 senior center Todd Terry was also lost with 2:28 to go in the game as he fouled out.

And for most of the game, Sissonville was able to slow down the run-and-gun Tigers into playing to a slower half-court style tempo much more to their liking.

It all added up to a loss for Chapmanville, which fell to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the Cardinal Conference. The No. 9-ranked Tigers, still, however, are highly optimistic about the rest of the season. Chapmanville, coached by first-year mentor Harry Kirk, have already matched last year’s win total of four.

No. 11 Sissonville improved to 2-3, 2-1.

The Tigers will get another shot at the Indians next Saturday night at Sissonville when the two teams have a rematch and will play each other for the second time in seven days. Chapmanville’s next action is Tuesday night at 3A county rival Logan.

Terry led Chapmanville in last Saturday night’s game with 21 points.

Matt Cook had nine points and two blocked shots.

Cliff Hall contributed eight points, six assists and three steals.

Dustin Woody had seven points for the game for the Tigers.

Ethan Brumfield had six points and eight boards.

Brooks Cooper had two points, while point guard Zach Maynard had one point and 10 assists.

Chapmanville outrebounded the taller Indians 29-27.

Sissonville was paced by 6-6 big man Caleb Keller’s 18 points. Cody Williams, another inside player, had 15 points. Walker added seven, Casey Jarrett six, Colton Fleck five and Chris Kelly and Logan Smith had two each.

The Tigers led 12-5 after one quarter, 28-27 at the half and 43-40 after three.

Chapmanville tried to put the game away late but the Indians kept hanging around.

The Tigers led 50-43 with 6:31 left after a 3-pointer by Cook.

But then the Indians cut it to 50-48 with a three-point play by Williams.

Terry’s spin move in the paint put Chapmanville back on top, 54-50, with 2:44 left but he fouled out 16 seconds later.

Sissonville then seemed to take advantage of Chapmanville’s three one-and-one misses from the charity stripe, by getting two splits from the free throw line and the game winning shot by Walker.

Chapmanville had one last chance as it was to inbound the ball from underneath its own basket with just 2.8 ticks left but the Tigers were whistled for five seconds and the Indians got the ball back. Sissonville inbounded the ball and ran out the clock to preserve the victory.

The Tigers jumped out to an early 8-2 lead early with Cook’s putback with 3:17 to go in the first half, getting Chapmanville’s fans to their feet and forcing Sissonville to call timeout.

Woody’s 3 later made it 17-7 Tigers, then largest lead of the game for Chapmanville.

Sissonville, however, crept back, using its inside game to their advantage. The Indians closed to within 28-27 at the half by outscoring the Tigers 22-16 in the second period.

Sissonville was outscored 15-13 in the third but was down only three points after three.