STEUBENVILLE — The Catholic Central boys’ basketball team picked up a big win on a big night for the program.

Catholic Central built a double-digit advantage in the second quarter against Jefferson County rival Edison, however, the Wildcats were still in the game. That changed in the third as Catholic Central outscored Edison by 12 and built a 27-point lead en route to a 74-34 victory via mercy Friday night on senior night inside the Mickey Barber Gymnasium.

“It’s senior night, and all of our seniors scored at least four points,” Catholic Central (14-3) head coach Don Ogden said. “I have to give Edison credit. They play hard. We knew that coming in. Their intensity and effort in the beginning of the game gave us a challenge. They played hard throughout the game.

“I thought we were undisciplined in the beginning part of the game with our shot selection. In the second half, we settled down, we focused and came away with a big win.”

A three-point play gave the Crusaders a 70-34 lead in the fourth and brought the running clock into play.

“We came out and executed our gameplan,” Edison head coach (3-13) Jeremy Matics said. “They picked up the pressure. We did not respond well at times, and the game got out of hand.”

The score was knotted at five in the first quarter, however, the Blue-and-Gold delivered an 8-0 run to take a 13-5 lead. The hosts led 15-8 at the end of the quarter.

The hosts extended their advantage in the second. A basket gave them a 23-11 lead with 5:38 left to play in the quarter, forcing Matics to call a timeout. The Crusaders led by as many as 13 points in the quarter before taking a 31-19 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The hosts led the boys in black, 54-30 entering the fourth quarter. Catholic Central outscored Edison, 20-4, in the fourth to account for the final score.

“I think we both played well at times,” Matics said. “We had a couple good practices. We know what each other will do. We played a good first half. In the second half, they turned up the pressure, and we did not respond.”

Catholic Central senior standout Benji Rook recorded a game-high 27 points to lead the way offensively for the victors, while Camden Bradley collected 19 and Timmy Mihalyo tallied 10.

Kyle Long contributed a team-high 10 points to lead the way for the Wildcats, while Jaxon Wiley contributed eight and Jackson McBane ended up with seven.

“We have been getting off to good starts,” Matics said. “The kids are working hard. We are going to try and get better for our next game.”

The victory enabled Catholic Central to sweep the season series from Edison. The Crusaders defeated the Wildcats, 59-32, in their season opener Dec. 3 on the road.

“Not really,” Ogden said asked if either team did anything differently in the second game compared to the first one. “We decided to just stick with what we do best and go from there.”

Catholic Central honored its six seniors – Caleb Bier, Tommy Pergi, Andrew Rohde, Rook, Mihalyo and Bradley.

“When they first came up, you could see the talent, but the maturity was not there,” Ogden, who is in his sixth season as head coach of the Crusaders said about his seniors. “We got mercy ruled some. We had young kids who were forced into varsity duty. They stuck with it. They worked hard. As seniors, I couldn’t be more proud of them They are going to be a very hard group to replace. They all get along with each other. They are all good friends. The team chemistry is awesome.”

The Crusaders won 15 games last season.

“All the credit goes to them,” Ogden said about his team’s success the past two seasons. “They came into the year focused. They wanted to accomplish some big things this season, and they are working hard to achieve them.”

Edison is scheduled to play Ridgewood tonight on the road.

Catholic Central is slated to play Oak Glen Tuesday night at home.

“My philosophy is celebrate the win tonight, and tomorrow, you haven’t won anything,” Ogden said. “You have to get focused on your next game.”

Catholic Central 74, Edison 34

Edison 8 11 11 4 – 34

Catholic Central 15 16 23 20 – 74

EDISON (3-13): Haught 0 0-0 0, Auteri 0 0-0 0, Rogers 1 1-2 3, Bokunevitz 0 0-0, Hoobler 0 0-0 0, Farnsworth 1 0-1 2, K. Long 3 2-3 10, D. Long 0 0-0 0, Filburn 1 2-2 4, Appelgarth 0 0-0 0, Wiley 3 0-0 8, McBane 2 2-2 7. TOTALS: 11 7-10 34.

CATHOLIC CENTRAL (14-3): Rook 11 3-3 27, Mitchell 0 0-0 0, Mihalyo 4 0-0 10, Sprochi 0 0-0 0, Bier 2 0-0 4, Krupp 1 0-0 2, Pergi 4 0-0 8, Rohde 2 0-0 4, Bradley 8 3-5 19, McInnis 0-0 0, Rambsel 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 32 6-8 74.

3-POINTERS: Edison 5 (K. Long 2, Wiley 2, McBane); Catholic Central 4 (Rook 2, Mihalyo 2)