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Weir High advances in Class AA sectionals with thrilling victory

DRIVING IN — Weir High’s Luka Haught drives by East Fairmont’s Garrett Wilkerson on Saturday. Also shown is the Red Riders’ Reed Reitter. (Photo by Joe Catullo)

WEIRTON — The give-and-go play is as old as the game of basketball itself, probably because it works.

It worked to perfection Saturday night for Weir High, as Luka Haught made a jump shot from outside the 3-point line with 1.1 seconds left in the game for a thrilling 49-47 Class AA Region 1, Section 1 play-in victory over East Fairmont.

The Red Riders already had the Carl Hamill Fieldhouse rocking, as they overcame an 11-point fourth quarter deficit to get within one point at 46-47 on two free throws by junior Sebastian Spencer with 28 seconds remaining.

Weir High (14-7) fouled Ducati Linn in the Bees back court. East Fairmont was in the double bonus, so the senior went to the line with two free throws, his team leading by one point and only 20 seconds showing in the clock. Linn was unable to convert on either shot, which breathed some life into Weir High’s chances.

The East Fairmont (6-17) defense shot off any chance that the Red Riders could get, so coach Mike Granato asked for a timeout with eight seconds remaining. He set up a pick-and-roll play. Spencer’s inbounds pass went to Haught, who tossed it to senior Reed Reitter at the top of the key. Reitter quickly got it back into Haught’s hands with the clock running down.

Haught planted his feet and let the ball fly and, when it sipped through the net, the Weir High team flooded the floor. The officials ruled those 1.1 seconds were on the clock when the ball went through the hoop, so they cleared the floor and allowed East Fairmont one last chance. However, the inbounds pass to junior center Ben Underwood went awry, and the celebration began all over again.

“I don’t know what was going through my mind. I was just watching the basket, and it went in,” Haught said. “It was just like everything, all the hard work I’ve done, led me to that point. I’ve just worked so hard for it. It was such a surreal feeling. One thing I remember was to just be calm and play my game.”

Granto said the big win, which sends the Red Riders into the semifinal round of the playoffs at No. 1 seed Fairmont Senior on Tuesday, was special because he had a rough week with the unexpected death of his mother on Feb. 16.

“I don’t ever remember a win like that happening, at least not in an important playoff game,” said Granato, who is in his 20th season as Weir High head coach. “I think what you had is it was tournament basketball, so each possession meant a little bit more. I thought a good plan for us was to get into their legs a little bit by substituting like we always do, keeping the pace of the game to our liking.

“I kept telling them they’re going to wear down, and they didn’t doubt me. They bought in, and I thought that in that fourth quarter we really picked it up big time. We were down by 11 points, and we kept telling them to keep battling and working, and they did. Finally, when we got stops, they couldn’t get into their defense because we were able to get into transition. Through the first three quarters, I thought East Fairmont did a good job with their defense and situation stuff they did. When we got into those transition situations, they had a hard time stopping us, as they did when they were able to get set.”

When junior Ethan Harvey came off the bench and drove the baseline for a goal, the Bees had their biggest lead of the game at 41-30 with 6:45 left on the clock. From there, the Red Riders not only got some shots to fall, but their defense also stepped up to force several stops. All of a sudden, the Red Riders completed a 14-3 run, as junior Elijah Gillette picked up a loose ball under the Weir High basket and made a layup to cut the Bees’ lead to 45-44 with 1:03 remaining.

“I’m not sure something that actually happened,” East Fairmont coach Tyron Asterino said when asked what happened after his team had the 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter. “I think it was a combination of some plays that we made. After that time, sometimes we didn’t make those plays, and they (Weir High) made some shots and some plays. Regardless of what we did, there are a lot of good athletes on both sides. We made some drives to the basket and some plays. That’s how we were doing it the majority of the game.”

Asterino didn’t feel fatigue was a factor even though he made just a couple of substitutions.

“We’ve had some injuries — as everybody has this time of year — and our bench isn’t as deep as what it has been,” he said. “We’ve had injuries all season, so we just have to credit them (Weir High) for making big plays. That’s why they are moving on.”

East Fairmont’s big man, 6-foot-8 Underwood who averages a double-double, led all scorers with 17 points. Linn and fellow senior Garrett Wilkerson scored 10 points apiece.

Spencer scored 12 points to lead the Red Riders. He also had three rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots. Haught, who dished out four assists, was close behind at 10 points.

GAME NOTES

¯ The game got a bit wild in the second half, with a couple of players going hard to the floor and Weir High getting charged with an intentional foul.

¯ A moment of silence was held before the game to honor Granato’s mother. Red ribbons also were handed out to support the head boss.

“I want to thank the outpouring of sympathy from this town after the death of my mother,” Granato said. “It was unbelievable. It has been a hectic week with my two assistants, Paul Buffington and Dylan Cassiadoro, working with the team all week until Friday. The love that that my family has been shown is second to none. From the cards, visitations and everything, I just can’t say enough about it, but I just want to thank everyone.”

Weir High 49, East Fairmont 47

East Fairmont 17-7-13-10 — 47

Weir High 16-5-7-21 — 49

EAST FAIRMONT (5-17): Harvey 1 2-3 4, Linn 4 1-6 9, Slusser 0 0-0 0, Wilkerson 3 2-4 10, Pollock 3 1-2 7, Underwood 7 1-2 17. TOTALS: 18, 7-17: 47. 3-POINT GOALS: 6 (Linn 2, Wilkerson 2, Underwood 2); REBOUNDS: 16 (Underwood 5); TURNOVERS: 13.

WEIR HIGH (14-7): Spencer 4 3-3 12, Haught 4 0-0 10, Gillette 3 1-2 8, Trupiano 1 0-0 3, McCoy 2 0-0 4, Reitter 1 1-2 3 Mikula 1 0-2 2, Buffington 3 0-0 7. TOTALS: 19, 7-15: 47. 3-POINT GOALS: 6 (Spencer, Haught 2, Gillette, Trupiano, Buffington). TURNOVERS: 13.

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