Wheeling Central Maroon Knights after beating Williamstown in the WVSSAC Class AA Boys Basketball State Championship inside the Charleston Coliseum on Saturday, March 22nd.
CHARLSTON – With just one minute left in Saturday’s Championship Game, Williamstown Yellow Jackets was selected to dribble for the rest of their time. The Wheeling Central Maroon Knights’ hard-working journey to the top of the 59-40 WVSSAC Class AA Boys Basketball title was built and built for the final buzzer, and when the final seconds were ticked, the Wheeling Central Maroon Knights’ struggling journey to the top of the top took the victory of rival Williamstown in the 59-40 WVSSAC Class AA Boys Basketball title.
Wheeling Central’s Championship was the first boys basketball title since 2018 and the first championship game since 2021.
“That makes it special to see all the work they put in to get to this game and get to your goals,” Hauling Central head coach Mel Stevens said of his team. “That’s what it’s all about. Really. I feel so good for them that I can now relax a little and think about how much work they’ve done and how it paid off for them.”
The dedication to the Central team was announced at a post-game press conference, with discussions turning to 6am practice, rigorous training and hard work from the JV and freshman team.
“I did a lot of work this year, but it ultimately paid off,” Tyler Dean summed.
photograph: Nick Henthorn
Wheeling Central’s Troy Anthony will cut nets following the WVSSAC Class AA State Championship game on Saturday inside the Charleston Coliseum.
“That was the state championships, the main goal of the summer,” Eli Sancom said. “We just worked hard every day in practice. Filming, rebounding, defense, whatever.”
Eli Sancom, who faced Williamstown on Saturday, finished the Sterling State Tournament run with 26 points, 15 rebounds and six assists.
Max Orejas scored 14 points with seven rebounds, while Troy Anthony scored eight and Dean Seven.
Parker Schlam and Cruz Issary each had 11 to lead Williamstown.
“We realized that it would be a big job for us,” Stevens said of the game. “Williamstown is very good, I have the most respect for Coach (Scott) Sauro, his staff and his program. I knew that a great effort was needed from us.
photograph: Nick Henthorn
Max Orejas will cut the net following Saturday’s WVSSAC Class AA State Championship Game within the Charleston Coliseum.
“First half, really close, second half, they ran a bit to start the third quarter. We want to break down the game into two four-minute segments of each quarter and try each one to win.
Within the Charleston Coliseum, the championship game was tight throughout each of the first three quarters.
The fourth quarter was not near. After seven three pointers came in fourth, Wheeling Central shifted down the stretch, scoring 18 points in the paint in fourth. Olejasz placed three baskets on the rim. The first basket pushed Wheeling Central in double digits, 40-31 for the first time in all games. Suncom also scored six points within the quarter.
Central scored 22 points in painting the game.
“They’re very focused and I hate losing,” Stevens said of his team. “When it came to the fourth quarter, we knew it was crunch time.
photograph: Nick Henthorn
Luke Suncom will cut nets following Saturday’s WVSSAC Class AA State Championship Game within the Charleston Coliseum.
“As far as we were actually trying to put the ball in the paint, we made some adjustments offensively. We were able to do that. Max got a bucket there as Eli drove and fed him. It changed the colour of the game.
Central went down 6-6 from the foul line to stretch, with Elisancom going 4-4 and Dean getting 2-2. In all, Wheeling won the fourth quarter 25-10.
“The strength of the schedule this year was amazing so I knew we were going into the fourth quarter. We played a lot of tough games in the fourth quarter, so we knew we were going to win,” Eli Sancom said.
Wheeling Central started fourth on a 9-0 run and started the quarter by keeping Williamstown at 30 points for more than three minutes.
“I certainly like to focus on the defensive side,” Stevens said. “Even if you struggle with offensiveness, if you are defending, you still can win the game.
photograph: Nick Henthorn
Eli Sancom will cut nets following Saturday’s WVSSAC Class AA State Championship game within the Charleston Coliseum.
“We actually spend 45 or 55 minutes on defensive clips every day. That’s very important to us. When there’s someone like this who can attack, you can concentrate a lot on the defensive side and have them take care of the attack.”
As a team, the Maroon Knights had 14 assists on just six sales, repeating Williamstown 31-26. The victory was a bit red after the Yellow Jacket won the two-team regular season meeting with 1 point 56-55 at Williamstown.
“Previously before the game someone asked me. He’s an incredible talent, but they’re not one-trick pony,” Williamstown head coach Scott Sauro said of Wheeling Central. “They have other people they can play. That’s why they’re in this game. (Luke Suncom) can shoot the ball. He shot 4 out of 3 of the five when we played last time. He can shoot.
Eli Sancom passed three three pointers in the second quarter, saving all Central scoring with free throws from brother Luke Sancom. The end of Sancom’s 3-pointer got the biggest response. With a 40 footer on the half-time buzzer, I banked and sent the Maroon to the locker room.
“It felt good from my hands,” Sancom said. “I saw four seconds left, so I knew I could put in four dribble.
photograph: Nick Henthorn
Wheeling Central won the WVSSAC Class AA State Championship Game on Saturday inside the Charleston Coliseum.
Suncom was selected as the Class AA Tournament MVP after the match and participated in all Class AA tournament teams for Orejas and Dean.
There were 10 lead changes and four ties throughout Saturday’s contest. The state title is Wheeling Central Boys Basketball’s 14th.
The centers of the seniors in the middle, Braxton Billick, Troy Anthony, Don Janangeri and Tyler Dean, will be on top. But Central brings a lot of their core, including Eli and Luke Sancom, Max Orejas and Nico Kushik.
“I’m always here and they’ll win almost every year,” Eli Sancom said of Wheeling Central. “We haven’t won since 2018, so when we come in freshman year, we know we have to win a couple. This is one.”
Wheeling Central won the WVSSAC Class AA State Championship Game on Saturday inside the Charleston Coliseum.
Wheeling Central won the WVSSAC Class AA State Championship Game on Saturday inside the Charleston Coliseum.
Eli Sancom will take part in the layup during the WVSSAC Class AA State Championship game on Saturday, within the Charleston Coliseum.
Wheeling Central’s Tyler Dean will shoot a three-pointer during the WVSSAC Class AA State Championship game on Saturday inside the Charleston Coliseum.
Eli Sancom will film the inside during the WVSSAC Class AA state championship game on Saturday, within the Charleston Coliseum.
Wheeling Central’s Tyler Dean dribbles in a fast break during Saturday’s WVSSAC Class AA State Championship game inside the Charleston Coliseum.
Wheeling Central’s Eli Sancomb will expand the defender size during Saturday’s WVSSAC Class AA State Championship game within the Charleston Coliseum.
