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Eagles,‘Jacks, And Pilot Boys Win; Lady Eagles, Pilots, And Wildcat Girls Lose

By Staff | Dec 30, 2009

Magnolia, 66

Monroe Central, 48

The much anticipated season opener for the Magnolia Blue Eagle Boys’ Basketball Team arrived Dec. 22, as they welcomed Monroe Central to the HammerDome. Magnolia didn’t disappoint, racing out to a 12-0 lead to start the game before a Seminole three pointer swished the cords midway in the opening period. The Blue never looked back in winning, 66-48.

Eagle Matt Sapp nailed down two baskets from beyond the arc and Traeh Keller added one, while freshman Mark Winters added seven points to help the Eagles gain a 24-12 lead after one period of play.

The Seminoles shook off a shaky start and out shot Magnolia 14-12 to go into the locker room, down only 10 points.

However, the Eagles flexed their muscles and went on a 17-6 scoring blitz, highlighted by Winters’ nine points that included a basket from well beyond the arc to go up 53-32 entering period four.

The final frame was all Magnolia, as their aggressive defense and tall front line that battled from start to finish just wore down the ‘Noles and helped the Eagles to earn the victory.

The eight-man rotation of Winters, Sapp, Jared Blatt, Josh Yost, Andy Huggins, Jordan Moore, Traeh and Jayson Keller kept the Eagles fresh throughout.

“Winters, right now, is every thing we thought he’d be,” said Magnolia Head Coach Dave Tallman. “That is the reason I threw him into the fire. He has played a lot of AAU ball and he was ready for it. I wasn’t sure what he would do, because you never know what a freshman is going to do. But I was very pleased.”

Tallman went on to explain his rotation. “When one or two guys get in foul trouble we never miss a step, and we have so many weapons you can’t shut them all down.”

The young Winters led the talented Eagles with 22 points, including a basket from beyond the arc, while hauling in a game-high seven rebounds. Sapp followed with 10 points, including a pair of threeballs, while adding five assists, five rebounds, and three steals.

Blatt was held to nine points, while Huggins contributed eight points, five rebounds, and two blocked shots. Jayson Keller scored seven markers, while Yost added five points. Traeh Keller and Moore had three and two points, respectively.

Magnolia won its junior varsity game, 51-46, with Drew Goddard the leading scorer for the Eagles with 19 points.

The Eagles played Tyler Consolidated Tuesday, but results were not available by press time. They will host the Oak Glen Golden Bears today with a junior varsity start at 5 p.m. and host the River Pilots Jan. 2 at 6 p.m.

Valley, 69

Clay-Battelle, 61

The Valley Lumberjacks scored 27 points in the fourth period to come from behind to defeat Clay-Battelle 69-61 Dec. 22 in Pine Grove.

Valley took a 19-9 lead after eight minutes of play, thanks in part to a trio of triples by Alex “Hondo” Henderson. However, the Cee-Bees went on a 22-6 run to take a 31-25 lead heading into the locker room. The ‘Jacks outscored the Cee-Bees 44-30 in the second half, including 27 points in the fourth period to gain their third win of the season. Henderson, Ronald “Mercury” Morris and Matthew Poling each tallied eight points in the period.

Henderson led the Lumberjacks with 23 points that included three baskets from beyond the arc, while hauling in a team-high eight rebounds and dishing out six assists.

Morris followed with 19 points, including a pair of threeballs, while Poling added 16 markers and was 10-13 from the charity stripe. Clay Ueltschy netted six points, hauled in six boards, and blocked two shots, while Dustin Bickerstaff and Garrett Ueltschy added three and two points, respectively.

The Valley Lumberjacks played the Cameron Dragons Tuesday, but results were unavailable by press time. The ‘Jacks will try to start the New Year right when they travel to Beallsville Jan. 2 to tangle with the Blue Devils, with a 6 p.m. junior varsity start.

River, 65

Beallsville, 37

The River Pilots used a 21-4 run in the third period, en route to a convincing 65-37 drubbing of the Beallsville Blue Devils Dec. 22 at Richard Potts Gymnasium in Hannibal.

Leading 11-7 in the opening quarter, the Pilots tallied 18 points, while holding their guests to seven points.

The Pilots would push their margin to 29-18 by the break and would add 21 points in the third period to head into the final frame up by 28 markers. All the while, they held the Blue Devils to a mere four points.

Dylan Potts led all scorers with 20 points, while Tyler Jeffers followed with 14 points for the Pilots. Jordan Potts drained a three pointer on his way to nine points, while Tyler Stewart and Zac Wax each netted five points. Sammy Ramsier, Tucker Brown, and Jordan Indermuhle each tallied four points.

The Pilots played Buckeye Trail Tuesday, but results were unavailable at press time. They will start the New Year off at Magnolia on Jan. 2 with the junior varsity game set for 6 p.m. and the varsity matchup 20 minutes after the conclusion of the jayvee game.

Magnolia, 53

Weir, 55

The Weir Lady Riders went on a 13-5 lead late in the first period and hung on to defeat a stubborn Magnolia girls’ squad, 55-53, Dec. 23 at the HammerDome in New Martinsville.

The Lady Eagles fought back and regained their first lead early in the fourth period on a Marissa Bosley deuce. But, the Lady Riders went on a 6-0 run to gain the nod.

Despite being outshot 71-46 – and being out rebounded 46-31 – the Blue Eagle girls’ hung in and made a game of it. Weir also shot six more foul shots and had eight fewer turnovers. Despite the huge difference in statistics, one might think the visitors should have won by more than two points.

However, the never-say-die Eagles climbed the back of junior point guard Padyn Ludewig and rode her to her fifth 20 plus points game. She marked up 28 points, including a pair of baskets from beyond the arc.

Bosley and Jordan Babe each followed Ludewig with seven points each, while Abby Harlan, Dallas Mullett, and Lindsay Cain combined for 11 points.

The Lady Eagles will play in the Parkersburg Catholic Holiday Dec. 29-30 and will travel to Ritchie County Jan. 7 at 6 p.m. to start the New Year.

River, 43

Wheeling Park, 65

The Lady River Pilots raced out of the gate in the opening frame against the Wheeling Park girls’ basketball team to go up 10-3. But, Park held on and cruised to a 65-43 victory at R. L. Potts Gymnasium Dec. 28.

After the Lady Pilots burned the Lady Patriots in the first period, Wheeling changed its defense from a man-to-man defense to a 1-3-1 zone and put pressure on River’s outside shooting. And, with a larger front line, they gave fewer second chances.

“They have a lot of tall, lanky, big players and their 1-3-1 defense hurt us,” said River Head Coach Rick Isaly. “They forced some turnovers and we couldn’t get any shots to fall.”

Park went on an 8-0 run at the start of the second period, after knotting the Pilots at 12 after one period to go from being down seven points to being on top eight points with 4:30 left to the half.

The Pilot shots that were falling in the early part of the game weren’t falling at all in the second half. The Hannibal ladies were outscored 13-6 in the third and 24-15 in the fourth to hand Park a run-away victory.