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WHEELING - A couple of months down the road the Wheeling Central boys' basketball team might look back at the Cancer Research Classic and call it the weekend that turned around its season.

The defending West Virginia Class A state champion Maroon Knights entered the two-day event at Wheeling Jesuit University's Alma Grace McDonough Center with a 1-3 record and searching to find themselves.

Even Friday night's loss to undefeated Wheeling Park had plenty of bright moments for Coach Mel Stephens' club as Central rallied remarkably from a 21-point deficit in the final 6 minutes to force overtime before finally coming up short.

Less than 17 hours later, the Maroon Knights turned in what was their most dominating performance of the 2009-2010 season by knocking off the taller, talented Sewickley (Pa.) Academy, 74-64.

Senior guard Jordan Sorge attacked the basket from on top and along the baseline to score 18 points and collect eight assists, while backcourt mate Zack Hood drained a trio of 3-pointers while contributing 15 points and fast-improving 6-foot-2 junior Shane Greskevitch hit for 11 points and pulled down five rebounds as Central handed the Panthers their second loss in eight games.

Stephens optimistically agreed the Maroon Knights' play in the CRC event could have a last effect on his team's performance the rest of the way.

''We went toe-to-toe with two excellent teams and the kids are feeling pretty good about themselves right now,'' Stephens said. ''I thought we played well against Park even though we dug ourselves a big hole. The kids kept playing hard and it carried over into (Saturday) even though I was little bit worried about fatigue coming back on short rest this afternoon.''

In the opening quarter, the score was tied on three occasions and the lead changed hands four times with the Maroon Knights squeezing in front, 16-15, when Marcus Clifford hit the back end of a two-shot foul after being hacked driving to the basket with 12 seconds on the clock.

There were five more lead changes until the midway point of the second quarter when the Maroon Knights, trailing 24-20, turned to the sharpshooting Hood, who deposited back-to-back 3-pointers into the silk giving his team the lead to stay.

After Sewickley's 6-3 guard Tom Droney, a Davidson recruit, cut the deficit to one with a free throw, Sorge found an opening in the middle, drove to the basket and turned in a conventional three-point play. Later, Aldon Ghaphery flashed into the lane and netted a turnaround jumper to put Maroon Knights in front 33-26 at the intermission.

''I thought halfway through the second quarter, Sewickley was getting a little tired,'' Stephens said. ''We told our kids to keep pushing the ball and make them run back on defense as much as we could.''

Central successfully used the same game plan at the other end of the floor, forcing Sewickley to work extremely hard on offense, especially when Droney got his hands on the ball.

''It was a total team effort,'' Stephens said, pointing out that the Maroon Knights kept putting different guys on Droney.

Even though the Panthers standout finished with 21 points, he was just 4 of 15 from the floor, including 0-for-5 from behind the three-point line. He was put on the free-throw line 16 times, hitting 13 of those attempts.

Sorge's most impressive drive to the basket came early in the third quarter when he got the ball along the left baseline, turned on the jets and exploded to the other side, putting in a reverse layup while also drawing a foul. He cashed the free throw, giving the Maroon Knights their first double-digit lead at 38-26.

The third quarter also featured a nice feed inside by Sorge to Greskevitch, who turned that opportunity into a conventional 3-pointer.

Central's lead was 46-37 heading into a wide-open fourth quarter that saw the two teams combine for 55 points. Tyler Palmer kept the Panthers close by scoring 14 of his 15 points during the final 8 minutes, hitting four 3-pointers and adding a two-point basket. The closest Sewickley came to catching up was at 68-62 with 1:19 left when Droney cashed a par of free throws. However, a Maroon Knights breakaway resulted into a layup for Tucker Wilkinson and Hood got the lead back into double figures with a pair of free throws with 31 seconds remaining.

Sorge's effort, his best of the season, was helped up somewhat by Stephens' decision to have the Maroon Knights open up some extra room for the explosive point guard.

''It's really a plus when he plays against somebody that doesn't really know him. It allowed us to spread the floor and give a little extra room to drive. When he sees an opening, he's really good at taking the ball to the basket. I think Marcus does a great job of that, too,'' Stephens added.

Clifford, finally getting back to full health after sustaining an ankle injury in the semifinals of the state football playoffs, scored seven points against the Panthers and also used some of the open spaces to dish off five assists.

''I give credit to everyone of my kids,'' Stephens said. ''They were a lot taller than us inside but we did a good of blocking out inside.''

Central outrebounded the Panthers 29-28, with Sorge using his leaping ability inside to pull down six rebounds.