Knights Hold Off Cadets
Sorge scores 34 points for Wheeling CentralBy TRACY WATSON , For The Intelligencer
Friday night's city rivalry between Wheeling Central and Linsly turned into a game of cat and mouse, with the Cadets chasing the Maroon Knights all night long and coming ever-so-close to catching them before being denied again.
For coach Mel Stephens' team, it was junior sensation Jordon Sorge who managed to continually keep Linsly at bay.
Sorge bombed in a game-high 34 points, including an array of dazzling drives to the hoop and also a pair of triples, and Central built an eight-point lead midway through the first and never let the Cadets any closer than five the rest of the night in picking up a 65-51 victory in front of a large and spirited crowd at Stifel Fieldhouse.
The victory moves the West Virginia-ranked Knights to 8-2 on the campaign with a tough three-game stretch in front of them. Wheeling Central will play host to state-ranked Morgantown Trinity tonight, before hitting the road for games at John Marshall and Shadyside next week.
Stephens' crew downed the Monarchs in a three-overtime thriller in East Wheeling and lost to the Tigers earlier this season.
Even with some huge challenges in front of them, the Knights were able keep focus, get the lead early and gain victory Friday night. Linsly's Ben Weimer drilled a trey 17 seconds in giving the hosts a short-lived 3-2 advantage, but a Sorge triple midway through the quarter pushed the Central lead to 13-5.
It went to 19-11 after one, and the Cadets twice got to within five in the second quarter at 26-21 and 28-23 before the guests grabbed a 32-23 lead at the break. The Maroon Knights owned a 45-37 advantage after three and used a 12-4 run to begin the fourth to put things away.
''Jordon Sorge is very good at driving the basketball to the hoop for us,'' Stephens said. ''And he is especially good at doing it late in games.
''I think that we hit the boards really well and we were able to get the lead, but we never really expanded it. We would go up 12 or 14 and they would cut it right back down to eight. We just never got into a comfort zone with a bigger lead.
''But give Linsly a lot of credit, they battled all night long. At times we didn't handle the situation very well as far as time and score and we rushed some shots and gave them opportunities. It was something that didn't hurt us (Friday), but it could be the difference in a close game down the road.''
Sorge got on a roll immediately, dropping in 10 in the first quarter and 17 by halftime. He also finished with 11 points in the fourth, including six in the final 1:52.
D'Onte Long chipped in with nine points, while struggling with foul trouble all night.
DeMarr Moulton paced the Cadets with 17 points while Weimer added 10 and Pat Milton chipped in with eight.
''They have a lot of players over there that have the ability to score points,'' Linsly coach Mark Dodd said. ''Someone has to be the one scoring them on any given night and (Friday) it was Sorge.
''That is just another well-coached Wheeling Central team with a lot of kids that love the game of basketball. Those kids live, eat and sleep basketball and that is why they are so good every year.
''We had chances, we had some open shots down eight and could have very easily taken it to a one possession game, but we just couldn't get them to fall. Basketball is a game of runs - they had the first one, and we fought back but we just couldn't get some shots to fall when we needed them.''
Monroe Central 62
Shadyside 60, OT
GRAYSVILLE - Mike Habig hit both ends of a 1-and-1 with 15 seconds left in regulation to tie the score, then Kyle Jorris put in the winning two with 15 seconds remaining in overtime as Monroe Central (3-8) surprised Shadyside (9-3).
Habig led the Seminoles with 21 points and 10 rebounds and Derek-London Dierkes added 18 points. Meanwhile, Jorris finished with 14.
Justin Andes paced the Tigers with 16 points and six rebounds, while Heath Brooks (six rebounds) and Nick Schuetz dropped in 13 points apiece.
Cameron 54
Paden City 50
PADEN CITY - Jacob Koontz tossed in 21 points as Cameron (9-2) used a 30-18 advantage in the middle two quarters to knock off Paden City (8-4). Corey Wright chipped in for the Dragons with a 13-point night.
Malaki Anderson and Ryan Thoburn paced the Wildcats, who has just five turnovers, with 17 points each.
Steubenville Catholic 57
Steubenville 49
STEUBENVILLE - Sean Harlan and Justin Teramana scored 13 points as Steubenville Catholic (9-5) went on a 19-0 run in the fourth quarter to win the City Championship for the first time since 1992-93, and the third time overall.
Jordan Meyer and Jeryl Christian netted 13 points apiece for Steubenville (4-8).
Weir 72
Weir Madonna 58
WEIRTON - Shawn Burns contributed 19 points to an attack that had three double-digit scorers, propelling Weir (8-2) to a victory against city rival Weirton Madonna. Justin Horstman scored 12 for the Red Riders, and Taylor Collett had 10.
Sal Conti's 20 points paced the Blue Dons. Dante Greco added 13.
Union Local 65
Bellaire 44
MORRISTOWN - Joby Barr erupted for 33 points to lead three double-figure scorers as Union Local upended Bellaire.
Jordan Barbina checked in with 15 points for the Jets (11-1), while Darby Waller contributed 10.
Leading the way for the Big Reds (5-6) were Levi Crozier and Anthony Hocker with 11 and 10, respectively.
Hundred 66, Valley 53
HUNDRED - Emery Smith had 16 points and 10 rebounds to help Hundred take care of Valley slowly, but surely, widening the lead in every quarter. Logan McDiffit led the way for the Hornets with 20 points, followed by Corey Kimble with 14.
Ronald Morris had scored a game-high 23 points to pave the way for the Lumberjacks.
Barnesville 65
Beallsville 41
BEALLSVILLE - Bryson Stephen netted 12 points while Kody Skinner and Tyler Fitzpatrick had 10 each to Barnesville (8-4) to a victory against Beallsville (3-9).
Jordan Darby paced the Blue Devils with nine points.
Shenandoah 54
Buckeye Trail 49
SARAHSVILLE - Cody Johnson exploded for 34 points as Shenandoah used a second-quarter edge to handle Buckeye Trail. Wes Rataiczak added seven points for the Zeps (9-2).
Greg Strasser had 19 for the Warriors (3-8), while Joe Collart scored 12.
Girls
St. Marys Tournament
Frontier 63, Belpre 52
ST. MARYS - Heather Booth had 20 points to lead Frontier (8-4) past designated visitor Belpre (4-7).
Meagen Rinard added 16 points in the victory.
River 66
Tyler Cons. 45
KIDWELL - Jordan Ramsey's 16 points led four players with 10 or more as River bounced Tyler Consolidated. Also contributing for the Pilots were Meagan O'Neil (13 points), Epic Wayts (12) and Alexa Isaly (11).
Christy Jones netted 16 to lead the Silver Knights (1-11). Chelsea Musgrave added 12 points, four rebounds and five assists, and Heather Suter had 11 points.
