WHEELING – After three back-and-forth quarters on the Skip Prosser court, the Wheeling Central Maroon Knights (5-0) defeated the East Liverpool Potters (5-1) 80-65 on a fourth-quarter explosion. I broke it.
The Knights led 54-50 going into the final frame, but jumped on the visiting Potters with five straight jump shots, including four 3-pointers, and started a 19-6 run that edged Wheeling Central. They led 69-60, giving the home team the victory. The rest of the contest is in the driver’s seat.
“We played great for three quarters,” East Liverpool head coach Nate Conley said. “We knew this was a tough place to play and a tough place to win. They hit shots from everywhere and scored 30 points. They give up about 42 points per game. Hats off to them for scoring 30 points and beating us in the fourth quarter.”
“I really liked the intensity we showed in the fourth quarter,” Wheeling Central head coach Mel Stephens said. “In the first half, we were leading by one point at halftime, but we really didn’t follow our game plan well and forced our shots on offense.
“I thought we were a little bit better in the third quarter, and we were able to extend the lead a little bit. In the fourth quarter, we guarded our shooters a little bit better and we were able to rebound the ball and then execute on the offensive end. I made it.”
Luke Sancombe made two 3-pointers in game-deciding moments, Quinton Berlenski made one and Troy Anthony made another. Those three were also the Knights’ leading scorers, with Sancombe contributing 27 points and eight rebounds, Anthony with 18 points and Verlenski with 16 points and five assists.
East Liverpool was led by Preston Carr, who totaled 20 points and seven rebounds. Cohen Pease also scored in double figures with 13 points.
Wheeling Central made 6 of 7 3-point field goals on the night in the fourth set, with Sancombe and Anthony making shots from opposite sides of Ohio in the fourth quarter.
“I think what they realized in that fourth quarter was what we’ve been telling them all game long: We want to drive the ball, but if the defense breaks down, we want to kick out,” Stevens said. Ta. “If we can make open threes, I have full confidence in all of our players. It’s a little fuzzy on what was contested, but we still have to get it done and I think our players have really stepped up. think.”
It was the Potters who grabbed the momentum early in the game with some hot shooting, quickly building a 12-4 lead with four straight 3-pointers from Pease, Carr and Jake Smith. That spurt made the difference in the quarter, with the Potters leading 19-12 after one game.
“This was our first large-scale test,” Conley said. “I thought we handled it well. Obviously we didn’t have a good fourth quarter, but they’re a very good basketball team. They’re going to win a lot of games. We’re going to learn from it and learn from it. You watch film, you move forward, and you get better from there. That’s why we wanted to challenge our guys.”
Peas was fouled at the buzzer in the first quarter and went into the second quarter with a 2-2 lead over East Liverpool and a seven-point lead.
East ended the first half with a 30-29 lead.
Just as the Potters’ shot to start Game 1 mirrored Central’s shot to start Game 4, Valenski also made a 3-point try at the buzzer at the end of the third quarter, saving him from a trip to the foul line between quarters. Obtained. Berlenski sank all three free throws to cut the lead to four points, giving the impression that he would continue to hit a series of long balls.
The Knights’ defense also picked up steam in the fourth quarter, allowing 11 points, but they were able to get to the perimeter and thwart open jump shots.
“We know they have multiple guys that can make shots, and we saw that last year when we went there and played against them,” Stevens said. “They basically had everyone back and we had everyone back. Our game plan was to switch to their shooters on all kinds of screens and handoffs.
“In the first half, they did a great job of attacking our big guys, but we were a little slow to get out. In the second half, we got a little faster and forced some contested shots, but… , the biggest thing is we have to rebound. I think we did a better job, especially in the fourth quarter.”
Last season, the Potters defeated the Maroon Knights 72-71.
Central was led by Max Olejas with 14 points and Jeremy Ratcliffe with four points and seven rebounds. Wheeling Central shot 13-for-17 from the line and East Liverpool shot 4-for-5.
“This was a big game. We were an undefeated 5A school in the OVAC. We’re going to get a ton of points from this game,” Stevens said. “It was a good game to get a little bit of momentum going into the Christmas break.”