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Wheeling Central Wins Key Bout Vs. Bishop Donahue

Big crowd packs WJU for possible final matchup

Photo by Josh Strope Wheeling Central’s Adam Jarrett, left, hustles down the court to block this shot from Bishop Donahue’s Trey Miller on Tuesday at WJU.

WHEELING — In what may have been the final meeting between two passionate rivals, Wheeling Central and Bishop Donahue didn’t disappoint Tuesday night.

The Maroon Knights and Bishops battled at a fevered pitch before a packed house at Wheeling Jesuit University with Central emerging with a hard-earned 74-65 triumph.

The Maroon Knights of Mel Stephens are a sparkling 16-2. Donahue, which is scheduled to close its doors at the end of the school year, dropped to 10-6, a record which understates the quality of Tom Wise’s crew.

“It was a real good game with great atmosphere. I am glad we moved the game to Jesuit,” Stephens said. “With Donahue you know you are always in for a tough fight. Their kids are competitors and play hard to the finish.

“It’s a nice win against a quality and well-coached team. Hopefully, it helps us get the No. 1 seed in the sectionals.”

The game also matched two standouts who performed at high levels.

Central’s John Burkhalter was exceptional with 25 points, including five 3-pointers. The Bishops’ Taylor Straughn was equally exceptional, pouring in 25 points while doing much of the ballhandling and rebounding chores. He has 1,556 career points, five shy of the school record.

Donahue couldn’t have started any better, coming out of the gates by scoring the game’s first nine points. Central, after a timeout, was able to stem the tide somewhat, closing the gap to 21-15 at the quarter pole. Straughn tallied 10 points in the frame for Donahue while teammate Koltin Kleeh delivered nine.

Central’s depth and pressure began to gain traction in the second quarter. The Bishops were encountering shooting woes while turning it over six times in the period. In the meantime, Burkhalter went off for 10 points in the period as the Maroon Knights performed quite efficiently to grab a 39-33 halftime advantage.

The third quarter proved much of the same as Central continued to wear on the Bishops. Burkhalter added eight more points in the round while 6-foot-2 junior Brent Price delivered eight as the Maroon Knights lead grew to 59-47 after three stanzas. The Bishops hurt their cause with five more tunrovers in the period.

Central’s biggest lead came with 3:18 to play in the fourth quarter courtesy of a Burkhalter dunk which basically ice the verdict at 72-54.

“We got off to a great start but got a bad break when our point guard Trey Miller suffered a hip injury early on. He tried to play through it but he was really hampered,” Wise said. “We played hard and I was pleased with our efforts. Burkhalter is a great player and had a big night.

“I am happy with our kids, but I am not happy with the result. But it was a very good game played in a great environment. We will learn from this game.”

Burkhalter received double-digit scoring support from a trio of teammates. Price enjoyed a strong night with 17 points while Owen Gainer and Cedric Williams chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Kleeh was the only other Bishop to reach twin figures, netting 13 points. Donahue committed 13 turnovers, four more than the Knights.

“We knew Donahue would come out strong. I felt that our depth and pressure made a difference as the game played out,” Stephens said. “I told our team sometimes results don’t always show up early. We just kept working and the results were there in the end.

“Straughn is a great player. He does so many things. But I do think we made him work hard for his 25. We got a big lift from Cedric off the bench. He understands his role. We were able to penetrate and get him the ball.”

Donahue returns to action Saturday night at Magnolia. Central is idle until Tuesday when Shadyside pays a visit to East Wheeling.

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