WHEELING — The Maroon Knights took the first step in trying to win their second state hockey title in three seasons.

By virtue of a 3-1 win against Charleston Friday night at WesBanco Arena in the opening round of the West Virginia State Tournament, Central advanced to today’s semifinal against top-seeded Morgantown. Face off is scheduled for 12:15 pm

The Knights struck for a single goal in each of the three periods.

On the power play, Maddox Ochap got the scoring started when he found the back of the net at the 12:56 mark of the first after a nice pass from Rowen Parker.

Less than five minutes into the second period, Ochap lit the lamp once again to push the lead to 2-0. Assists were credited to Bode Burge and Hunter Kinkade.

Central made it 3-0 at the 7:25 mark of the final period when Parker scored. Burge recorded his second assist.

Seth Mandel was sharp in the cage. He faced 44 shots on goal and gave up just the one tally.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Martins Ferry 64, Weir 55

WEIRTON — The Weir High boys basketball team led visiting Martins Ferry at halftime, but the Purple Riders stormed back in the second half for a comeback win over the Red Riders.

Weir High (4-10) fell behind 14-10 after one but surged ahead 28-22 at the break with a big second quarter.

Martins Ferry (11-6), though, scored 42 second half points to come from behind and take the win.

Amir Williams led the Red Riders with 20 points, while Syncere Stevenson, Jonathan Horstman and Ryant Lyons each netted eight.

Martins Ferry got a game-high 23 from Elijah Smith and 21 from Anthony Booth.

The Red Riders are set to host rival Brooke on Tuesday night.

Wheeling Park 61, East Liverpool 40

EAST LIVERPOOL — The Wheeling Park Patriots shattered the Potters on the road Friday, firing on all cylinders from deep in a 61-40 victory.

Josh Huffman led all scorers with 21 points, nailing four 3-pointers to help him to his total. Jay Bordas and JD Williams each hit two 3-pointers as the Patriots made eight from beyond the arc, while East Liverpool made one.

JD Williams scored 12, the same tally as Jordan Beck-James, while Bordas scored eight. Kolten Whitmire shot 7-8 from the line to account for all his points.

Tyler Kirby led East Liverpool with 11 points.

Barnesville 39, Shadyside 37

BARNESVILLE — The Shamrocks held on to a slim victory against the Tigers, led by Ryker Willis’ 20 points.

Barnesville led 25-23 at halftime and 34-30 going into the fourth quarter.

Brady Powell scored 10 to join Willis in double figures.

Michael Hendershot scored 15 for Shadside, while Trenton Marling scored 12.

Fort Frye 66, Cameron 25

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The Cadets took care of business inside the ECO Center on Friday against the Dragons.

Kainan Bradford led Fort Frye with 14, while Danny Yoss led Cameron with eight.

Brooke 60, Oak Glen 54

NEW CUMBERLAND — The Bruins picked up their 10th win of the season with a road victory over the Golden Bears.

It was Crosby Morris’ turn to lead the Bruins in scoring Friday, ending with 18 points and eight rebounds. Grant Yost followed closely, posting his second-straight double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Pete Fodor scored 11 points to join his teammates in double figures. Leading assist-man Ty Sperringer dished out 10 assists along with scoring seven.

St. Clairsville 75, Harrison Central 44

CADIZ — The Red Devils burst out of the gate on their way to a road win over the Huskies on Friday.

Griffin Straub scored 17 to lead St. C., while Luke Schafer scored 14 and Kaden Clifford 10. The Red Devils shot 22-32 from the foul line, while Harrison Central shot 4-8 from the stripe.

St. Clairsville led 21-13 after the first quarter and 43-19 at halftime.

Cooper Thompson and Colson Crothers each scored 11 to pace the Huskies.

Edison 65, Steubenville Catholic 61

STEUBENVILLE — The Edison boys basketball team jumped ahead of Catholic Central on the road Friday night and fended off the Crusaders for a road victory.

The Wildcats (5-9) opened a 15-8 lead after one quarter and led 31-17 at halftime.

The Crusaders (7-9) netted 21 points in the third quarter to pull within nine after three.

Edison had the lead back to double digits multiple times in the fourth, but Central kept pushing back and trimmed it to within five multiple times as well.

Ultimately, the Wildcats made just enough foul shots to keep the margin at two possessions in hanging on for a four-point victory.

Edison was led by 18 points from Bryce Rogers, 17 from Kyle Long and 14 from Jackson McBane.

The Crusaders got a game-high 20 from Rahim Mitchell, 19 from Michael Fabbro and 14 from Kolbe Krupp.

Edison hosts Indian Creek on Tuesday evening, while Central takes a trip to Oak Glen on Tuesday night.