Wheeling Central Shares Ball In Routing Magnolia
Maroon Knights Chart 31 Assists On 38 Baskets In 96-62 Triumph
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WHEELING - The impressive number posted by Wheeling Central Tuesday night wasn't the nearly 100 points it put up, nor was it the 15 three-point field goals it knocked down or the 38 baskets it made.
According to veteran head coach Mel Stephens, it was the 31 assists the Maroon Knights charted in a 96-62 rout of visiting Magnolia on Coach Skip Prosser Court inside the Maroon Knight Athletic Complex in East Wheeling.
"We shared the ball very well tonight and when you make shots, that's where you can rack up the assists," Stephens stressed. "We've played pretty well the last few games, so that's huge going into Friday night's matchup at Dover. That is a gigantic challenge for us, but I think we've been playing as well lately as we have all season.
"We're looking forward to the trip."
Wheeling Central, ranked 8th in the latest W.Va. Class AA state poll, didn't waste any time in jumping on the youthful Blue Eagles (0-10). Leading 15-10, the Maroon Knights went on a 11-0 run to end the first quarter ahead 26-10 as Eli Dean netted six of the points off the bench.
"That is a couple of games he's done that for us," Stephens said of Dean. "He definitely gives us a big offensive spark off the bench."
Troy Anthony, who jump-started the late first-quarter surge with one of his seven treys in the contest, had 15 of team-best 27 points as the hosts held a commanding, 53-25, advantage at the halftime break. He also handed out a team-high eight assists while Tyler Dean and Quinton Burlenski each had half-a-dozen.
"We played pretty well in the first behalf," Stephens allowed.
Magnolia, which isn't the caliber of a winless team, played better in the second half, but the damage had already been done.
"We are a work in progress right now. We are trying to find the right combination and I think we found it there in the second half," veteran Magnolia head coach Dave Tallman said. "We only have one senior on the team and he's been hurt, so we're a very young team that is working on getting better each day."
Burlenski contributed 17 points and six rebounds, while Dean had 16 markers. Jeremy Ratcliffe chipped in nine points and Max Olejasz just missed a double-double with eight points and a game-leading 10 rebounds. The Maroon Knights bench, led by Dean, scored 31 points.
"I was proud of our defensive effort," Stephens noted. "The Pyles kid is really good and he made some shots, but I thought we made him work for them. To hold a team to 25 points in the first half is pretty good.
Magnolia's Hayden Pyles led all scorers with 28 points, which included five triples. He netted 14 in each half. Dubale Greathouse and Kingston Chisten each had 11. Brody Kocher added eight and nine rebounds.