Trending
WEIRTON -- Class AAA boys basketball brackets were about four minutes from a March Madness-like first round upset on the last day of February.
After dropping a pair of regular season contests to Weir High, both by 29-point margins, rebuilding Oak Glen had the lead and the momentum midway through the fourth quarter, looking to stun the Red Riders on their home floor in Tuesday's Region 1, Section 1 opener.
Weir High, though, got a spark from the bench, finally got its offense going and went on a 16-0 run to end the game, surviving the scare from their Route 2 rivals from the north to reach Friday's sectional final with a 60-46 victory.
"Mad respect to coach (Jerry) Everly and his team, they came out ready to fire," Weir High head coach Anthony Santangelo said. "Nobody wants their season to end, you're going to get teams' best this time of year. We told our guys that those two 30-point wins don't matter any more, it's 0-0 and the past is the past.
"(Oak Glen) threw some junk at us, they made a ton of big shots. Mad respect to Oak Glen. They executed their game plan and did it really well.
"It took almost four quarters but we woke up and give ourselves at least two more chances to play."
With the Golden Bears (2-21) ahead 46-44, Damir Mowder and Malachi Stromile subbed in for Santangelo's club. Stromile connected from 3-point land to give the Red Riders (14-9) the lead, and Mowder netted six-consecutive points and had a key block on the defensive end to spark the season-saving run.
"Damir Mowder really stepped up, Malachi Stromile did a really nice job on (Jared) Hissam," Santangelo said. "Guys knew what was at stake and really stepped up. We started getting stops, contesting shots and getting rebounds. The guys finally woke up.
"We tell the guys on the bench to be ready. We've seen Damir the last couple games be a spark, and work hard in practice, and Malachi has been bringing it off the bench all year. He had a big-time 3 and Damir had six-straight points and some key rebounds."
Colin "G" Cross helped close the show with a triple and four makes at the line in the final two minutes, finishing with a game-high 24 points. Damarr Turner netted 13.
"We gave a heck-of-an effort, I'm really proud of the way we came in here and battled against a really good team," Everly said. "I thought we really played well, we just didn't close it there at the end. Some bounces didn't go our way, some shots didn't fall, but Weir is a really good team and they make winning plays. They made the winning plays at the end.
"We come up a little bit short, but we had two freshmen playing in crunch-time in a game like that, it's good experience for them."
Weir High will take on top seed North Marion in the Section I final on the road at 7 p.m. Friday. With a win, the Red Riders would host a Region I co-final next week. The teams split a pair of regular season meetings, each winning on the others' home court.
W. Va. Class A
Cameron 77, Valley 48
CAMERON - Having allowed 51 combined points to Cameron standouts Cole Burkett and Lance Hartley in their last meeting, Valley head coach John Kocher came up with a plan to stop the Dragons' dynamic duo in Tuesday night's West Virginia Class A Region I, Section I semifinal.
And while that plan was effective, holding the pair to just 13 points between them, Kocher didn't plan for the three-point barrage that was going to hit his Lumberjacks or where Cameron's points were going to come from.
Trailing 9-1 over five minutes into the game, the Dragons inserted Mason Scott into the contest and the hosts never looked back.
Coming off the bench, Scott scored a game-high 26 points, including seven triples, while Colton Wichterman added 14 of his 16 in the second half and Mason Debolt chipped in 14 as Cameron closed the half on a 33-13 spurt before running away Valley in the second half to record a victory at Dragons' Indoor Stadium.
The victory gives coach Tom Harts' 12-11 record squad another shot at Madonna in the sectional championship game Friday night in Weirton. The Blue Dons have beaten Cameron three times this season, including in the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Class A championship game.
"They have beaten us three times this season so se know the challenge we are facing," Hart said afterwards. "We are going to enjoy this one (Tuesday) and get right back to work (Wednesday)."
"Mason (Scott) has come off the bench to give us a big spark a few times this year," Hart said. "And he definitely gave us an instant shot of energy (Tuesday). That is how we know he is capable of playing and he really stepped up.
"It really was a great team effort," Hart added. "Mason Debolt knocked down some big shots, Kason Angel had a big three in the first quarter, Colton Wichterman got hot in the third and Colton Winters was solid the entire game. That's all big when a team is able to hold Cole (Burkett) and Lance (Hartley) to just 13 points combined."
Hartley finished with a game-high nine rebounds as the Dragons grabbed a 38-27 edge off the glass. Burkett finished with 13. Trevor Stackpole dumped in a team-high 17 off the bench for Valley while Gavin Derby added 11. The Lumberjacks turned the ball over 17 times, seven more than their hosts.
Madonna 87, Paden City 36
AT WEIRTON, the Blue Dons (14-9) used 20 poi nts each from Anthony Mascio and Luca Muzzi to set up the fourth meeting with Cameron.
Oskar Lehtonen led the Wildcats with 11.
Class AAAA
Morgantown 85, John Marshall 44
MORGANTOWN -- The defending W.Va. Class AAAA state champs looked dominant Tuesday night inside the Rowdie Center.
The Mohigans (21-2) got off to a furious start, outscoring the visitors 23-2 to start the game and 31-7 in the first quarter overall.
MHS's defense turned John Marshall (12-11) over seven times in the first half and held the Monarchs to just three field goals in the period of the Region I, Section 1 semifinal.
Brennan Sobutka led JM with 14 points, followed by Cody Hartman with 10.
Morgantown will host Wheeling Park, 92-60 winners over Brooke Tuesday, in the Class AAAA Region I, Section 1 final on Thursday at 7 p.m.