The Patriots (15-7) also broke the school single-season record for 3-pointers in a season with 169 breaking the mark set by the 2022 Patriots.

“Everyone has kind of contributed to that. It’s kind of a cool record,” Wheeling Park coach Michael Jebbia said.

Halfway through the first quarter, the Patriots were clinging onto a 1-point lead, 12-11. However, a 14-3 run to end the opening frame was all Wheeling Park needed and kept the lead at double digits the rest of the way. Aiden Davis hit two long balls to end the first quarter. The Patriots continued the 3-point barrage as the first two buckets in the second quarter were 3-pointers (J.D. Williams and Davis).

“You’re always worried about this game because you know you have to win this first round, I thought the last three days of practice were great, just the attention to detail,” Jebbia said.

“There was no way we could let Leyton Toepfer, who is one of the best we played against all year, get into that rhythm. We tried to do a little bit of tighter defense and face guarding. Amare Johnson and Josh Huffman did a heckuva job. We got stops and we got out in transition.”

Toepfer had to work for everything, but led the way for Brooke with a game-high 24 points while Peyton Toepfer bucketed 19.

“A lot of depth. They got a lot of depth,” Brooke coach Adam Shinsky said about the Patriots. “They’re a very good team and are underrated. They play a brutal schedule. They have guys that can hit shots and run the floor well. A lot of weapons and our guys played hard. The Toepfers are non-stop.”

Wheeling Park certainly showed its depth. Along with their 10 3-pointers, the Patriots went 25 of 34 on 2-pointers and had four players in double figures.

Mykel Davis paced the Patriots with 23 points with a barrage of slam dunks while Aiden Davis contributed with 19. Amare Johnson secured all 12 of his points in the second half while Kaiden Davis was key in the first quarter tallying all 10 of his points including a pair of 3-pointers.

“This was his first double figure game of his career,” Jebbia said about Kaiden Davis. “I’m just proud of him. He’s a kid that stayed the course. He played freshmen ball, played JV ball, came off the bench the first 10 games this year and now starts. He does whatever you say. If he doesn’t hit those shots, it’s a lot closer in the first quarter. Kaiden Davis deserves all the credit for that spark.”

Johnson dished out nine assists while Aiden Davis grabbed nine rebounds, secured five assists and had four steals. As a team, the Patriots totaled 22 assists on 35 made baskets.