Weir High overcomes slow start to defeat Edison
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WEIRTON -- A big turnaround led to a big second half and a big win for the Weir High boys basketball team.
The Red Riders picked up the pace in the final three quarters against Edison, and they rallied from a double-digit deficit to defeat the Wildcats, 79-69, Thursday night on the Ron "Fritz" Williams Court inside the Carl Hamill Fieldhouse.
Weir High has now won four straight games.
Edison raced out to a 15-point advantage in the first quarter, but Weir High responded and built a 12-point lead in the fourth for a 27-point turnaround in the game.
"I thought the key to the game was finding their shooters in transition," Weir High (4-2) head coach Mike Granato said. "We did not do a very good job of that early on. We got out of our press and went into our halfcourt man-to-man. In our halfcourt man-to-man, we did not do a great job of finding their shooters, but our defense turned into our offense. The identity of our team is our defense becoming our offense."
The Red Riders scored at least 22 points in each of the final three quarters, as they scored 69 points in the final three quarters after scoring 10 in the first.
"We came out of the gate and played really well on both ends," Edison (3-4) head coach Nate Moses said. "What changed was we could not stop the ball. Coming into the game, I thought our bread-and-butter was our defense. Tonight, it was the complete opposite of that. Offensively, when you score 69 points, you are going to win games, but you aren't going to win when the other team scores nearly 80. We are going to have to look at ourselves in the mirror.
"Defensively, we did not stop the ball. We over-helped. We left guys open, and to their credit they made shots."
Two players scored in double digits for the Wildcats. Isaac Schmitz scored a game-high and a career-high 31 points, while Andrew Pugh produced 16. Edison drained 10 3-pointers.
Five players scored in double figures for the Red Riders. Luka Haught tallied a team-high 23 points, Tanner Mikula collected 14 and Thomas Buffington finished with 13. Also, Reed Reitter recorded 12 and Deon Trupiano delivered 11. Weir High hit six 3-pointers.
The Wildcats got off to a fast start in the first, as a 3-pointer by Anthony Sinicropi gave Edison a 23-8 lead late in the quarter. The visitors led 23-10 after the first quarter.
"In the first quarter, we did what we wanted to do," Moses said. "We pushed the ball, and we were able to get good looks. I don't think the pace hurt us. Defensively, we just did not stop the ball."
The Red Riders came alive in the second, as Trupiano's 3-pointer capped a 9-0 run and pulled Weir High to within 23-17. Edison responded and built a 32-22 lead, but the hosts battled back and pulled to within 34-32 at halftime.
"Nate's teams -- I told our kids about his teams, and I'm not blowing smoke or anything like that -- Nate gets more out of his kids than anybody," Granato said. "They play hard, and they play hard for 32 minutes. They have some super shooters. They have some excellent 3-point shooters. They get up and down the floor. You have to find the open man. Did they do anything different? No. Did they do everything we expected them to do? Yes, and they did extremely well. They are a good ballclub. Nate does a good job."
Weir High continued its strong play in the third, as it outscored Edison, 24-15, to take a 56-49 lead into the fourth.
The Red Riders continued to score in transition in the fourth and built a 12-point advantage on a couple of occasions. The Wildcats attempted a comeback, but they did not get stops when they needed to down the stretch.
"They did what we thought they would do," Moses said. "They hit shots. They broke us down defensively."
Both teams are scheduled to play Saturday night. Edison will play Toronto on the road, while Weir High will play at home against state-ranked East Fairmont (3-1). The varsity game is slated to start at 6 p.m. The Bees are in the same section as the Red Riders.
"That heightens it up a ton," Granato said. "We are going to enjoy this win tonight, and then we are going to be back in the gym (today) practicing."
GAME NOTES
¯ Weir won the jayvee game, 67-53. Skylar Jackson scored a game-high 26 points to lead the way for Weir High, while Tyler Kelly tallied 22. Zac Fluharty finished with 14 for Edison.
Weir High 79, Edison 69
Edison 23-11-15-20 -- 69
Weir High 10-22-24-23 -- 79
EDISON (3-4): Sinicropi 1 1-2 4; Easter 2 0-0 4; McFoose 0 2-2 ; Schmitz 11 4-6 31; Scott 0 0-0 0; Kinney 2 0-3 4; McBane 4 0-0 8; Pugh 6 0-1 16. TOTALS: 26, 7-14: 69.
WEIR HIGH (4-2): Haught 8 5-5 23; McUmar 1 0-2 2; Gillette 1 1-2 3; Trupiano 4 2-6 11; Reitter 5 2-4 12; Nutter 0 1-4 1; Mikula 5 1-3 14; Buffington 5 3-4 13. TOTALS: 29, 15-30: 79.
3-POINT GOALS: Edison 10 (Schmitz 5, Pugh 4, Sinicropi); Weir 6 (Mikula 3, Haught 2, Trupiano).