photograph: Jay Morris
Wheeling Central’s Eli Sancomb will face No. 7 Richie County, a victory for the 80-27 Knights in the Maroon Knights’ WVSSAC Class AA State quarterfinals.
CHARLSON – Thursday was a good day for the Wheeling Central Maroon Knights.
The Knights were fighting Westside Renegade in the Class AA state semi-finals, but news broke that Central’s Elisancom had been named W.Va. Gatorade Player of the Year.
Junior justified the selection and advanced to the Class AA title game on Saturday with the 57-38 Renegades within the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center in the Helpling Central Pull Away Away Big Two Quarter.
Wheeling Central head coach Melstephens announced the news to the team on a bus to the Coliseum on Thursday, and after the game, the longtime head coach turned his attention to not only that, but Suncom’s work from the court.
“The process they do, it’s not what you do on the court, it’s about what you do in the community and extracurricular activities,” Stevens said. “He’s just a great young man and comes from a great family. They’re all about the community part. I’m sure he helped his lawsuit along with his abilities on the basketball court.”
Sancom volunteered locally as one of the founding members of the St. Vincent de Paul Mattress Mover, a group of six boys who deliver new mattresses to those in need. He also donated his time as a “buddy” for athletes with special needs through the YMCA. He also participated in the Canned Food Drive at Central Catholic High School, picked up donations and delivered food bags.
“That means a lot,” Sancom said he was awarded. “It’s a tough job at the gym. That was one of my goals and one of my goals to win Gatorade of the Year. But my main goal is to win a state championship.”
“There’s a lot of motivation this year. My freshman year was vilified all year round. I couldn’t play. Last year I broke my wrist that made things difficult. This year I was completely healthy and ready.
Final score aside, Wheeling Central won several categories on Thursday. They overtook their opponents 34-24 and won the turnover battle 11-6.
“It really follows the game plan on the defensive side,” Stevens said. “We know they’re going to make some shots. We just want them to make it difficult, and we really emphasize the defensive rebound part. The team is going to hit the shots.
“You have to make it difficult by fighting over those shots and you have to finish those possessions with rebounds, so we thought we did it really well.
Suncom scored 24 points on 58% shooting, grabbed 15 rebounds and paid three assists on his second Strong State Tournament outing.
“He rebounded the ball and got some assists. He does what he needs to do to win, whatever it is,” Stevens said of Suncom.
Also, fellow Junior Max Orejas performed big with 20 points and nine rebounds, shooting nearly 70% off the field.
“It was Max today. It was Tyler Dean on Tuesday,” Stevens said. “We talk about all the time. Eli is about to get him. It’s the other person stepping up and usually takes the points and contributes. Everyone is unnoticed, they get rebounds and get a loose ball.”
Wheeling Central shot 45% off the field as a team and shot 34% on the West Side.
Bradyn Waldron led Westside with 12 points, with teammate Kaiden Vance at 11.
Wheeling Central started the game with a 10-2 run as Olejasz tallied a six, but Renegades did their own run at the end of the quarter, earning a final 7 and trimming the Central Lead to 3 points, making it 16-13, 16-13.
The middle quarter made a big difference to Wheeling Central, which had an 8-0 run late in the second quarter, turning a four-point lead to a double-digit halftime advantage of 38-26. Olejasz and Sancomb each played three points on scoring runs.
Reed grew 15 points in the third quarter with 3:04 on a 3-pointer from Elisancom, with Central entering the fourth quarter of 49-36.
The Rebels did not register a field goal in the fourth quarter, making it 0-10.
“I saw some of the kids walking down their heads,” Orejas said. “I walked over to my trainer and it looked like ‘They’ve quit.’ So we knew our defense was reaching them.
The victory will face first-placed Williamstown in the 10am championship on Saturday.
Wheeling Central lost on February 1st by one point, Williamstown vs. Williamstown vs. Williamstown, 56-55.
The Yellow Jackets defeated Wyoming East 61-51 to reach the championship.
“I’m not really old,” Stevens said of the tournament. “The decent thing about high school is that you always have different people. You rarely get all the crew back. So, for those who have been here before, they know what it’s like, but I’m always excited for people who are new to it.
