Wheeling’s Isaac Schmitt (44) battles with Bluefield’s William Looney for a rebound during Wednesday afternoon’s W.Va. Class AA quarterfinal round state tournament game in Charleston.

CHARLESTON – Wheeling Central’s struggles in the first half didn’t leave it enough time in the second as it fell in the quarterfinal round of the W.Va. Class AA boys state basketball tournament.

The No. 7 seeded Maroon Knights (14-11) trailed 34-17 at the half against second-seeded Bluefield while only shooting 27 percent (7-26). However, a trey by sophomore Troy Anthony with 20 ticks remaining pulled them to within six, 74-68, but with no timeouts – they spent two in the first half trying to keep the game close – they were forced to foul.

The Beavers (19-7) missed two free throws with 13 seconds left, but Kam’Rom Gore tipped the second miss in for a 76-68 victory inside the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center.

“We really struggled in the first half. To me, it was the little stuff that hurt us all year,” veteran Wheeling Central head coach Mel Stephens said. “We had to call a couple of time outs there to try and slow them down, and in the end having no timeouts hurt, as well.”

Sparking the Maroon Knights comeback was their three-point shooting. After making just 3 of 10 in the opening 16 minutes, they went 10-for-19 after the intermission, including 7 of 12 in the fourth quarter when they exploded for 30 points.

“We made a really nice run there at the end to get back in it, but with no time outs we had to foul,” Stephens noted. “We went to a smaller lineup and got some shooters in the game. We just ran out of time.”

Stephens pointed to one area that was a deciding factor.

“Bluefield shot 62 percent (31-50) and had 48 points in the paint,” he said. “Their shots were a lot easier than ours.”

Five different Wheeling Central players tickled the twine from downtown, with Anthony, Quinton Burlenski and Eli Dean having three each. Jeremy Ratcliffe and Tyler Dean each knocked down a pair.

Burlenski, a rising junior, led the Maroon Knights with 18 points, one more than Anthony. Eli Dean finished with 11. Burlenski also added four rebounds and a like number of assists, while Anthony cleaned the glass six times – with four being on the offensive boards – and handed out a trio of helpers. Freshman Max Olejasz chipped in eight points and five rebounds.

All five Bluefield starters reached twin figures as R.J. Hairston had a double-double with 13 points and a dozen rebounds. He also handed out seven assists and charted a pair of steals.

Caleb Fuller led the Beavers with 21 points while William Looney added 17, Gore 12 and Sencere Fields 11. Gore had four assists and Fields three steals.

Bluefield had five more rebounds with 33 and turned the ball over one more time with 11.

“I just told my team that we’ve got everyone coming back and for them to remember this feeling,” Stephens said. “Hopefully this motivates you to get back here next year.”