Photo by Cody Tomer Magnolia’s Hayden Pyles (22) and the Blue Eagles aren’t backing down as the No. 8 seed and are ready to take on anyone in this year’s state tournament.

CHARLESTON — We’re going to get there, but are we going to get there fast enough?

That was the question veteran Magnolia coach Dave Tallman posed to his basketball team almost every single day.

“They heard that a lot,” Tallman said. “And obviously, we got there.”

It may have taken longer than anyone expected, but the Blue Eagles (10-14) did eventually get there and they’re being rewarded with a trip to Charleston to play in the State Tournament.

The Blue Eagles played one of the toughest schedules in the area, taking a veritable tour of the best teams in the Ohio Valley. They played John Marshall twice, River twice, Linsly, Monroe Central, Weir, Martins Ferry, Tyler Consolidated and Cameron, to name a few.

It was that tough schedule, however, that Tallman believes helped his team to get over the hump.

“Anytime you play a tough schedule, it prepares you for this,” he said. “All your weaknesses have been exposed, but the one thing we have done a good job with is taking care of the basketball. We also play solid defense, it took us a while to get to know one another.”

Tallman has fielded a young team this season, led by senior captain Trevor Williamson. Fellow senior Damon Shimp and junior Brayden Vargo play considerable roles, but the team starts three sophomores in Brady Kocher, Kaden Johnson and Hayden Pyles.

“I just think that they are learning as they go,” Tallman said. “We start three sophomores and Trevor Williamson, our captain, has been patient and the better they get, the less he has to do. It’s just starting to all come together.”

This will be the Blue Eagles’ first appearance in the state tournament since 2016, Preston Boswell’s senior season and the year after they won the title in 2015.

Magnolia technically qualified for the 2020 state tournament, but they never got to play a game in the Civic Center as the event was cancelled due to COVID.

“Our attitude is that there’s absolutely no pressure on us,” Tallman said. “We’re excited about being there, we didn’t get to go two years ago. I was worried that Trevor Williamson might never get to play on the Civic Center floor, but he’s going to get to play and we’re playing a great basketball team. It’s the right test for us at the right time.”

Williamson averages a team-high 17.6 points per game this season, followed closely by Pyles (14.7).

“He’s a fighter,” Tallman said. “He’s the captain and he had to be patient with these young players. His job was maybe bigger than my job, as far as leadership goes, and he’s just done a wonderful job and he’s being rewarded. I’m just tickled to death for him.”

Magnolia is the No. 8 seed in Class AA and will face No. 1 Poca (23-1) in the quarterfinals this evening. The Dots are led by perhaps the best player in the state this season, University of Virginia commit Isaac McKneely.

“He averages 21 points a game and really, he’s pretty unselfish,” Tallman said. “A lot of teams have tried to double-team him and he brings the level of everybody on his team up. If you’re signing with the University of Virginia, you have to be a pretty good basketball player.”

To make it into the tournament, Magnolia defeated Ritchie County (12-10) in their sectional semifinal and defending state champion Williamstown (17-7) in their regional co-final. Both games were low-scoring affairs — 42-39 over Ritchie and 40-32 over Williamstown — and in both games, Magnolia’s starters never subbed out. Tallman said it was just the second and third times in his career when he has never substituted during a game, but the results speak for themselves as the Blue Eagles will tip off from within the Charleston Coliseum and Civic Center tonight at 7:15 p.m.