Linsly’s Nathan Coleman (24) has his shot blocked by Steubenville’s Phaeton Hill during Tuesday night’s game inside the Stifel Field House on the Linsly campus. The Cadets rolled past Big Red, 90-53.

WHEELING — With the cut-off for the OVAC Boys Basketball Tournament being Tuesday night, Linsly was firmly entrenched in third-place in the Class 3A standings when it hosted Steubenville. So, with nothing but pride to play for, the Cadets came out a blazin’.

“Our guys did a good job against their zone. The guys were patient and worked the ball around until we found someone open,” Linsly head coach Dave Wojcik said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can shoot the ball. Give my kids credit because they were patient with their shots.”

Indeed they do.

Tickling the twine on 12 of its first 15 shots from the floor, Linsly (11-6) raced to a huge early lead and never let up in a 90-53 victory over Big Red inside the Stifel Field House.

With four of its starters scoring at least five points in the opening quarter, the Cadets’ hot shooting forced veteran Big Red (6-11) head coach Mike Haney into using three of his five timeouts.

“They shot well from start to finish,” Haney said of the Cadets. “We tried to zone them but they had a size advantage and shot the lights out. We tried to go man and they hit some shots against that. We knew they had some shooters coming in.”

Linsly led 49-28 at the half despite not having a player with 10-or-more points. Ten Cadets reached the scorebook before the half.

“That’s what I’m pleased about. I thought we really shared the basketball tonight,” Wojcik noted. “Carter (Anderson) was really good with passing the ball. That’s what it takes. When you have the guys that can finish and make shots, you can afford to make the extra pass.”

The Cadets shot a blistering 57 percent (35-61) from the floor and were a remarkable 14 of 27 (52 percent) from behind the bonus arc where Jonas Vaysbakh had four treys off the bench to finish with 14 points. Carter Anderson drilled four triples among his 15 points, which was equalled by Gavin Jackson. D’arrae Goodwin added 11 points and Will Taylor 10. Nathan Coleman ended up with nine.

“Jonas knows how to play. He can shoot and he can pass,” Wojcik said of his long-range bomber. “This will be a big summer for him to get in the weight room and get his body bigger, but he can definitely play. He has a good IQ for the game.”

All 13 Cadets that took the floor scored at least two points.

Steubenville had the game’s leading scorer in senior Phaeton Hill. The lefty connected on half-a-dozen three-point goals en route to 30 points. Keith Lewis added 11.

“Phaeton had a good game. He battled … they all battled,” Haney said of his group.

Linsly led 31-23 off the glass as Coleman pulled down six. Frankie Vostatek had five for Steubenville.

Big Red charted 14 turnovers which were three more than the Cadets had.

Wojcik said the Cadets will most likely finish third and travel to No. 2 Caldwell in the Class 3A semifinals next week.