Red Riders Stop Rival Blue Eagles

Burns scores 10 in the 4th as Weir downs Magnolia

By JOSH STROPE
Ask any coach in the Ohio Valley what their main focus is when playing against Weir and every one will tell you the same thing — contain Pete Brogdon.

For all the talent Brogdon has, not even he can do it himself.

Friday night against Magnolia, he didn’t have to.

With Brogdon double-teamed most of the second half, sophomore Shawn Burns stepped to the plate and scored 20 points — 10 in the fourth quarter — as Weir snapped a two-game losing streak to the Blue Eagles with a 64-62 victory in New Martinsville.

‘‘It was a great high school basketball game and it showed that it truly is a game of runs,’’ Weir coach Mike Granato said. ‘‘We’d make a run, they’d make a run, we’d make a run, they’d make a run. Coming down the end, we made some better decisions and this is a tough place to play.

‘‘They have an excellent ballclub and they are very worthy of their No. 3 ranking in the state. For us to come down here and get a ‘W’ was really special for our kids.’’

The Red Riders (12-7) only trailed twice, the last coming at 4-2. But Magnolia was never far behind.

‘‘The first half, we had wide-open looks in our gym and we couldn’t knock them down,’’ Magnolia coach Dave Tallman said. ‘‘I’m really in awe of that because we have good shooters, but we don’t need good shooters, we need good makers.’’

With Weir leading by 10 midway through the third quarter, the Blue Eagles went on a key 10-0 run to tie the game.

It was a surprising run as Magnolia found itself in the double bonus early and its center, Jared Blatt, made his way to the bench with four fouls.

The catalysts of the rally were Colt Street and Zach Fox, each scoring five points to tie the score 37-37 at 2:12 of the third.

But just as quick as Magnolia (14-5) tied the game, the Red Riders regained their lead with five points coming from the free-throw line and 3-pointers from Brogdon and Justin Horstman as Weir opened the fourth quarter with a 48-37 advantage.

‘‘You just had two teams with a lot of offensive capabilities,’’ Granato said. ‘‘Their kids shoot the 3 well and we had some 3s that we made.’’

Weir kept Magnolia at a safe distance in the fourth quarter, but the Blue Eagles never went too far away.

Just when it looked like the Red Riders had the game wrapped up, Magnolia hit another big 3-pointer to breathe life back into the team.

Much of that came by way of limiting Brogdon to three points in the final quarter, all coming from the free-throw line.

Enter Burns.

The 5-foot-7 sophomore scored his career high, draining two 3-pointers at crucial times to stop Magnolia runs.

‘‘Shawn made some key shots,’’ Granato said. ‘‘They doubled-up on Pete and were really attacking Zac Miser so someone had to step up.

‘‘(Friday night) he had some ice water in his veins. He’s the typical sophomore that has days like that and is an offensive spark.’’

Added Tallman: ‘‘That was something we weren’t expecting. He had a good game. He got to the corners and hit the 3s and just had a nice game.’’

Even with Weir playing ahead most of the game, Magnolia still had a chance to win at the end.

With time ticking away, Fox drained a 3-pointer to make the score 64-62 with 4.9 seconds remaining.

Cody MacPherson was fouled and missed both of his free-throw attempts, but Scott Berry’s halfcourt heave fell short.

‘‘It helps our kids confidence from the standpoint where they don’t really doubt themselves too much, but we’ve struggled as of late beating good teams,’’ Granato said. ‘‘So whether it is a win against Magnolia or anyone, it is a win against a good team.’’

Magnolia defeated Weir 69-57 earlier in the season in Weirton and the two could meet again should they get past their sectional opponents.

‘‘It’s hard to beat a team three times in a row and if we are fortunate enough to beat Tyler, that’s the big game,’’ Tallman said.

Brogdon led Weir with 22 points, while Magnolia was paced by Berry with 16, Ben Bridgeman with 14, and Street with 12.