The Magnolia Blue Eagles traveled to Morgantown Thursday evening February 5th to battle the Trinity Warriors in a Class A Region One semifinal contest. The Eagles got off to a slow start, but rebounded to take down the Warriors in overtime 69-62 and advance to play Parkersburg Catholic on Wednesday evening March 11, in Parkersburg.

The home team with Austin Porta scoring 11 first quarter points led at the end of the period 20-11. The Eagles came back strong at the start of the second quarter with a 10-0 run with Noah Hood sinking a 3-pointer to put Magnolia up 21-20. The Eagles outscored the Warriors 19-4 in the quarter to lead 30-24 at the intermission break.

Trinity with Porta scoring 10 points in the third quarter outscored Magnolia 20-11 to lead 44-41 going into the final eight minutes. The Eagles Brayden Byers hit a 3-pointer with 3:47 left in the game to put Magnolia up 53-51. With the score tied at 55 and 1:27 left in the contest, the Blue Eagles 6-7 Noah Hood hit a short hook shot in the lane to give the visitors a 57-55 edge. Trinity came down and missed a shot with Magnolia grabbing the rebound. With 23 seconds to go, the Warriors fouled Christen, who hit 1-2 free throws for a 58-55 lead. The Warriors Maddox Mousadis drilled a long 3-pointer to tie the game with just 7 seconds remaining. Christen’s shot at the buzzer was no good to send the game into overtime.

Christen would score 8 of his 28 points in the overtime session to push the Eagles to the victory over the Warriors. The Warriors end their season with a (16-7) record.

Magnolia improved to (9-13) moving on in regional play. Christen led the Eagles with 28 points including two 3-pointers and a 10-12 showing from the free throw line, Noah Hood contributed 19 points including a three-pointer and 4-4 from the foul line. Scott Bailey playing in his first game this year netted 13 points including a 3-pointer and went 4-6 from the foul line. Brayden Byers hit a 3-pointer and was 2-2 from the line to finish with seven points, while Drake Christen added a two-point basket to round out the Eagles scoring. Magnolia hit five 3-pointers and went 20-24 from the free throw line.

The Warriors were led by Porta taking game high scoring honors with 31 points including a trio of 3’s and 4-4 from the foul line, Collin Lemley added 18 points, and Maddox Mousadis hit three 3-pointers finishing with 11 points in the loss. The Warriors hit six 3-pointers and were 8-10 from the free throw line.