Wheeling Central Looks To Trap Tall, Talented Beavers Today
No. 7 Maroon Knights Clash With No. 2 Bluefield At 1 P.M.
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CHARLESTON -- Wheeling Central is headed to the WVSSAC Class AA State Basketball Tournament on a roll.
The young, nary a senior on the roster, but upstart Maroon Knights are playing their best ball of the campaign. It comes at the perfect time.
Coach Mel Stephens' charges takes on second-seeded Bluefield today at 1 p.m. in the quarterfinals. Central enters the tourney as the No. 7 seed. The winner will take on the survivor of the Chapmanville-Ravenswood contest on Friday at 7:15 p.m.
Bluefield fell to Poca in last year's Class AA championship game. Central, meanwhile, competed in Class AAA, losing to Shady Spring, 59-49, in the state semifinal.
"Charleston and making the state tournament is always one our our goals, along with playing for an OVAC title," Stephens said. "This year is really special for a couple of reasons.
"First is that we played a really demanding schedule. And you don't know how a young team like ours would hold up against such a schedule," he added. "And the bigger thing is we lost Eli Sancomb to a severe knee injury in football season. Eli was going to be one of our best players without a doubt. To his credit, he has never missed a practice even though he is hurt. So, I am proud of how our young guys have dealt with adversity."
The state tournament and Stephens are quite familiar with each other.
The affable hoop coach has guided the Maroon Knights for 20 campaigns, 17 of which his charges have advanced to the state tournament. Along the way, Stephens owns an amazing six state championships.
Central, with a 14-10 mark against its meat-grinder of a schedule, has played superbly in the postseason. The Maroon Knights dispatched Magnolia and St. Marys in the sectional before ousting a quality Ritchie squad in the regionals.
"I think we are playing our best ball of the season," Stephens said. "But we need to keep getting better because Bluefield is a formidable opponent. They were ranked No. 1 for a good while this year and have not lost to any slouches."
Bluefield (18-7) indeed poses a major handful for Central. Four of the Beavers' losses have come at the hands of two of the state's No. 1-rated teams (two to James Monroe (Class A) and two to Shady Springs (Class AAA).
Buster Large has coached Bluefield for 16 years, amassing a sparkling 287-98 mark. He directed the Beavers to state championships in 2013 and 2014.
Bluefield, which beat Liberty 54-46 in its regional test, boasts good height and quality offensive balance. The Beavers feature four players averaging double figures.
Will Looney, a 6-6 senior, and R.J. Hairston, a 6-4 junior, provide a tall and talented tandem for Bluefield. Will Fuller is a 6-3 sharpshooting wing while 6-0 junior Kamron Gore is a capable scorer.
Holding it all together is 5-8 junior point guard Sincere Fields.
Central will counter its height disadvantage with deft shooting, excellent athleticism and priceless team work.
Quinton Burlenski is the Knights' catalyst. The 6-2 junior is a multi-tool player who cracked the 1,000-point mark in the win over Ritchie. He is a force, be it offensively, rebounder or on-ball defender.
He is no one-man show, however.
Junior Jeremy Ratcliffe is the Maroon Knight glue. The 6-2 forward is a tenacious rebounder, solid defender and double-digit scorer.
Savvy sophomore Troy Anthony is the team's third leading scorer. The 6-2 guard has deadly outside range to go with pesky defensive skills.
Max Olejasz will be a key factor matching up against Bluefield's size. The rising frosh has shown the ability to be a force at both ends of the floor. He is a defensive menace thanks to his 6-5 athletic frame while also blossoming into an offensive threat. He poured in 18 points in the regional triumph.
Isaac Schmitt rounds out the starting five and is solid in all aspects. The 6-2 junior does much of the defensive and board dirty work while also delivering some offensive punch.
Stephens really likes his bench, and with good reason. He can go several players deep when the need arises with no drop-off.
Eli Dean, a 6-0 junior, Braxton Billick, a 5-10 sophomore, and Tyler Dean, a 5-10 sophomore, all bring spark and energy off the pine. The varsity squad also features capable sophomores 6-1 Von Crall and 5-10 Dominic Gianangeli.
Stephens' coaching staff is nothing short of superb. He is assisted by Tyler Morando, Lance Bibey and Boyd Bibey.
"We will have to work hard to stop Hairston. But they have several other weapons in addition to him," Stephens said. "But I like some of our matchups and I have a lot of confidence in our bench. We have been practicing with great focus. These kids don't want the season to end."