PHOTO BY RICK THORP Wheeling Central’s Brandon Ingram (24) is guarded by St. Mary’s Eric Hamilton on Wednesday night. View additional photos at cu.theintelligencer.net

WHEELING — It was evident from the tip of Wednesday night’s West Virginia Class A Region One co-Final that Wheeling Central wasn’t going to go in an early hole like it did in its sectional championship victory against Weirton Madonna. After allowing St. Marys the first basket of the game, the Maroon Knights went on a 16-0 run and cruised from there in posting a dominating, 67-38 victory in their jam-packed East Wheeling Gym. In the process, Wheeling Central punched its third straight ticket to next week’s state tournament in Charleston. The Maroon Knights will find out their quarterfinal opponent today. ‘‘That’s always our goal at the beginning of the season,’’ Wheeling Central coach Mel Stephens said. ‘‘We point toward the middle of March and being in Charleston. ‘‘The last two or three weeks, with the exception of the last game against Wheeling Park, we’re probably playing our best basketball and that’s what you want to do when tournament time comes around.’’ Facing a Maroon Knights squad playing at its peak isn’t what St. Marys coach Mark Barnhart wanted to see. ‘‘They did a nice job and took us out of what we wanted to do,’’ he said. And what was that exactly? ‘‘We were hoping to get some dribble drives to the basket, get some ball screens and some penetrations and kick outs,’’ Barnhart said. ‘‘But they did a good job of taking us out of that.’’ And just about everything else.