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Maroon Knights Finish Off Cadets

Central outscores Linsly, 32-9 off the bench

Photo by Cody Tomer Wheeling Central’s Ryan Reasbeck, right, and Linsly’s Jon Milton go toe-to-toe during Friday night’s game at the Stifel Field House.

WHEELING — The goal for Wheeling Central on Friday night was simple. Finish.

Last Wednesday, the Maroon Knights defeated rival Linsly 77-67 but not before the Cadets made a valiant comeback at the end.

This time, Central coach Mel Stephens’ group made sure it would not happen again as the Knights rode out of Stifel Field House with a 75-57 victory over the Cadets.

“We talked about that last game,” Stephens said. “That first half was probably the best half of the year for us but in the second half, a lot of the credit went to them because they came out and played really hard.

“They kind of did that from the beginning (Friday). We didn’t play our smartest game but we played well enough in both halves to do what we had to do.”

Wheeling Central (10-4) outscored Linsly 32-9 from players off the bench, led by 6-foot freshman Ryan Reasbeck’s 15 points.

“I think we kind of wore them down a little bit,” Stephens said. “You could tell toward the end that they were getting a little tired.

“That’s our game. That’s how we want to play. We want to play up-tempo and force teams to play a little harder than they’re used to. Our guys are used to playing that hard.

“We feel like at the end of the third and into the fourth quarter, the advantage will come our way.”

Defense also played a role in the win as Central forced Linsly into 15 turnovers, nine coming in the second half.

“You have to give their defense some credit,” Linsly coach James Wallace said. “They turned us over a little more in the second half and contested a lot of our looks. We shot in the 20s in the second half in terms of percentage and we definitely missed our fair share of open buckets.

“They really stepped up and disrupted us and got us into some uncomfortable looks in scenarios.”

The Cadets (4-11) fed off of the high energy in the building during the first quarter, matching Central basket for basket, and trailed 17-15 going into the second.

A 15-5 burst by Wheeling Central followed to start the second quarter to soften the cushion to 32-20.

Anthony Robbins put the exclamation point on the first half with a two-handed slam that gave the Maroon Knights a 36-25 halftime advantage.

Robbins led the team with 10 first half points, while Marshall Taylor netted 10 points for the Cadets, as well.

Midway into the third quarter, Central reeled off another spurt. This one an 11-0 charge that was sparked by a pair of Reasbeck 3s that culminated in a 53-38 upper hand heading into the final frame.

The Cadets were unable to get it much closer in the fourth as Avery Lee and Dom Mills each poured in seven fourth quarter points off the bench to put the game away.

“We had some guys who just didn’t have a good night,” Wallace said. “You have that in basketball. Sometimes it just doesn’t go in and you have a rough night.

“Unfortunately for us, we had a couple guys have that in one game, especially one that means so much to our guys.”

Wyatt Hirt paced Linsly with a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds and Tevin Tush garnered 14 points.

“Look at guys like Wyatt Hirt,” Wallace said. “He came in and had a big night for us. We’re clearly making progress. Guys are getting better. We just need to keep grinding and working. It’s going to be a fun group to coach here in the next few weeks.”

J.C. Maxwell contributed 15 points in the victory.

“We still haven’t put together a whole game yet but that’s what we are striving for,” Stephens said. “To play a complete game. But we are playing well enough in spurts and they are getting the idea of what we are trying to do and what we need to do.”

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