Photo by Josh Hughes Wheeling Park’s Jack Stakem (1) defends Parkersburg South’s Seth Fallon during Tuesday night’s game.

PARKERSBURG — Keondre’ King scored 36 points as Wheeling Park overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat Parkersburg South, 84-67 Tuesday night at the Rod Oldham Athletic Center.

It was the first time since 2015 that Wheeling Park defeated Parkersburg South on its home floor.

A 12-2 Parkersburg South run to begin the second quarter put it ahead by 14 with 5:46 left in the first half.

However, the Patriots of Ohio County stormed back and went on an 18-8 run to go into the locker room down 42-38 at the break.

King secured 16 of his points in the first half, while Alex Vargo, who tallied 26 on the night, was a force to be reckoned with.

He already had a double-double in the first half with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Malaki Sylvia had a big first half for the Patriots of Wood County, as well.

He had a solid 12 points and five rebounds where he asserted himself in the paint. Sylvia was held in check in the second half, as he was held to 14 and 10 rebounds by the end of the night.

Parkersburg South got off to the races to start the second half, as 3-pointers from Brayden Mooney and Seth Fallon fought off a surging Park team.

The offensive output suddenly stopped when Parkersburg South missed its next five shots and two free throws.

The Patriots of Ohio County responded with a 12-6 surge to take a 59-56 lead going into the final eight minutes of play.

Wheeling Park’s offense exploded with 25 points in the fourth as King scored as many points as Parkersburg South did in the fourth (11).

Park had its way neutralizing the South scoring attack, and coach Michael Jebbia knew his team had to take advantage of a struggling offense.

“The biggest key for us was trying to get stops against South,” Jebbia said of his opponents. “They’re so good offensively. Alex Vargo rebounding the ball and Keondre’ King got hot again he’s been hot for the last three weeks.

“Those two guys have been really consistent, and some of our other guys are a big reason for this. Jack Stakem, Xavier Morris and Donovan Goddard played big minutes for us.”

Mike Fallon’s Patriots let another game slip away in the second half, and he kept preaching the importance of playing for March.

“We’ve just got to get better, I mean, there’s just no other way to put it,” Fallon said.

“The other thing we’re playing for now is March. Between now and then, we’ve got to keep finding ways to win.

“That’s all we can do. We’re not going to win any conference championships. We’ve got to keep clawing. I’m not going to quit. I’m not going to give up.”