WHEELING – After a pair of tightly-fought regular-season opening wins, Wheeling Central treated itself to a walk-in-the-park Tuesday night on Skip Prosser Court in East Wheeling.

The potent Maroon Knights bested outmanned Morgantown Trinity by a 75-18 count. The lopsided triumph comes on the heels of close and successful battles with Monroe Central in the Sam Andy Classic and Martins Ferry.

Coach Mel Stephens’ 3-0 charges return to action on the road Monday in a rematch with the Martins Ferry.

Central once again played without one of its key pieces as standout sophomore point guard Luke Sancomb is still sidelined due to a football injury.

The Central-Trinity contest was a mismatch from the get-go. The Maroon Knights, meshing its relentless pressure with an uptempo offensive attack, tallied 17 of the game’s first 19 points and were never threatened thereafter.

“It was nice to be able to get some guys who didn’t much playing time in our first two games many more minutes tonite,” Stephens said. “Everyone scored and they played very unselfishly.”

Central built a 30-4 upperhand after one quarter. Junior ace Eli Sancomb fueled the early surge with nine points in the round while senior guard Tyler Dean delivered seven counters.

The Maroon Knights stretched their lead to 49-6 at intermission even though Sancomb didn’t see the floor in the quarter. Dean produced seven more points in the second period.

Stephens called the dogs off early. As a result, the Maroon bench contributed 28 points on the night.

Four Knights reached double digits.

Dean led the way with 16 points. Sancomb, coming off 37- and 31-point outbursts, was next with 13 counters while 6-7 junior Max Olejasz and 6-6 classmate Steven Brodegard evenly divided 20 lightings. Braxton Billick chipped in with nine points.

“I am really happy with the way we have started the season. Monroe Central and Martins Ferry are two quality teams,” Stephens said. “They were two close games that will pay dividends down the road. They are also both in our classification, so they are key wins.

“It’s nice to be 3-0 but we still have things to work on,” added the veteran mentor. “Hopefully, we can stay healthy and focus on getting better everyday.”

Trinity fell to 0-4.

The Warriors had just two players reach the scoring column. Harlen Jackson led the way as the 6-3 junior totaled 16 points.

Brodegard was superb off the bench as he grabbed 11 rebounds to go with his 10 points. Sancomb, meanwhile, flashed his talented all-around skills by snaring nine rebounds, dishing our four assists to go with two steals.

Trinity committed 13 turnovers. Central, meanwhile, took good care of the ball, as it was guilty of just seven miscues.

No jayvee game was contested.