Central Tops St. C. in Overtime
Reasbeck, Toepfer Lead Knights to 13th Consecutive Win
ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- Thirty-two minutes was not enough time to decide a winner between Wheeling Central and St. Clairsville Wednesday night as the two boys' basketball squads went toe-to-toe in a heavyweight showdown on John Jenkins Court. However, over the next four minutes the visiting Maroon Knights delivered a knockout blow with the 1-2 punch of Ryan Reasbeck and Leyton Toepfer.
Reasbeck, a senior standout, scored the first four points of the extra session and Leyton Toepfer, a promising sophomore, netted the next seven as Wheeling Central (13-1) held the Red Devils scoreless in an 85-74 overtime triumph before a huge turnout.
"This is a big win for us," veteran Wheeling Central head coach Mel Stephens said. "Things weren't going well for us, especially early and then in the second half they got out to another lead a little bit, but we just kept plugging away and stuck with what we do, and that was to drive the ball. We made some plays there, but I thought the big plays were made on the defensive end of the floor when Michael (Toepfer) doubled down and got a steal and when we started getting defensive rebounds."
After jumping out to a 9-0 lead to start, St. Clairsville (10-6) saw Wheeling Central eventually draw even at 22. The contest would be knotted on eight occasions, the last at 74 when the Maroon Knights' Michael Toepfer drained a trey from the right wing with just over a minute remaining in regulation.
Both teams had chances in the waning seconds, but both failed to connect as the boisterous crowd was treated to some bonus basketball.
Reasbeck quickly scored four points as the lead changed for the 11th time. St. Clairsville would go 0-for-5 from the floor and Leyton Toepfer tickled the twine on five consecutive free throws.
"I told the kids that I'm extremely proud of them," Stephens stressed. "That kind of effort in a place like this against a very good team on a very special night for them when they had all the emotion going. But we stayed the course, kept plugging away and made enough plays down the stretch.
"Ryan is always going to get his (points) because of the type of player that he is, and we asked for someone to step up each night and help him out," Stephens said. "Tonight Leyton did just that tonight. We also got some big performances out of some other people, maybe not double figures (scoring)."
The Red Devils led by as many as 11 midway through the second quarter as senior Ryan McCort accounted for 18 of his team-best 27 before the intermission.
With the game deadlocked at 71 and 3:22 showing on the fourth-quarter clock, McCort completed a conventional three-point play to give the hosts a 72-71 edge. After the Maroon Knights misfired at the other end of the court, McCort made it 74-71 at the 2:39 mark.
Following a turnover by each team and a timeout by the visitors, Michael Toepfer came up clutch to tie it.
"The difference in the game late was that they made some big shots and ours went in and came back out," St. Clairsville head coach Ryan Clifford said. "That was the difference, but give their kids credit. No. 14 (Michael Toepfer) made a big three to tie the game late."
Reasbeck completed a double-double with 10 rebounds. Quinton Burlenski, a sophomore transfer from Bridgeport, added 15 points and seven rebounds. Michael Toepfer and Caleb Ratcliffe evenly divided 12 points, with Toepfer securing six boards.
"Both teams gave it," Clifford added. "This is the type of game that is good for the Ohio Valley. Two good programs playing. Both teams can score. I know their kids put in a ton of time and I know how much my kids put in, so you're not going to get a lot of stops."
Cole Thoburn also reached double digits with 14 points, which included four triples. Avery Henry also scored 14 and added 11 rebounds.