Twice during the regular season the Blue Eagles gave Wheeling Central all they wanted. On Wednesday night March 2, at Wheeling University the third seeded Blue Eagles had high hopes of making the third time a charm. However the second seeded Maroon Knights had other ideas and sent the Blue home on the short end of a 62-42 score in a Class AA Region 1 Section 1 opening round boys basketball game.

Magnolia came into the game without their senior point guard Brayden Vargo, but still managed to keep the contest close for three quarters, as junior Hayden Pyles led the way with a game high 20 points. The Blue Eagles were still within reach with eight minutes to go and the score 42-32, however Central took advantage of the outmanned Blue Eagles in the fourth to come away with the 20 point win.

Central led 18-12 lead after one quarter, with QuentenBurlenski scoring nine points and Jeremy Ratcliffe adding six. Dulbale Greathouse hit for six for Magnolia. The Blue Eagles closed to within three (28-25)at the half behind five second quarter points from Pyles.

Leading the way for Central was Burlenski with 19 points, nine rebounds , and five steals. He was aided by junior Eli Dean with 11 markers, while Ratcliffe and Troy Anthony each added nine. Magnolia received 10 points from sophomore Greathouse to back Pyles on the night.

“I was proud of how we competed. We really missed Brayden tonight, especially when Central pressured,” Tallman said. “We were still in the game in the fourth quarter but I think we started to run out of gas. Their bench was much deeper than ours.

“They also hurt us on the offensive boards. I think getting tired was a part of that,” added the three-time state champion coach. “We didn’t have as many wins as we would have liked this year but this group was a joy to coach. We had no issues all year.”