By BUBBA KAPRAL, Wheeling Intelligencer
WHEELING — Some losses are more painful than others, especially when they occur with a state tournament berth on the line.
That is what the Wheeling Park basketball team felt Tuesday night after falling to nemesis University High 65-53, in a Class AAA Region I championship.
University (21-4), rebounding from an emotional sectional co-final loss to Morgantown, clinched its third straight state tournament appearance.
“The loss to Morgantown was the toughest of my career. I couldn’t sleep after that game,” University coach Joe Schmidle said. “Coming here was the last place I wanted to come. We don’t play well here normally.
“I thought all our shots were quality shots. We got up on them early and that made things much easier.”
The game marked the fourth time University and Wheeling Park (15-9) squared off this season, with the Hawks winning three, including the OVAC 5A championship.
After surging to an 18-7 first-quarter lead, The Hawks were never allowed Park to draw closer than seven the rest of the night.
“University made their shots. Give them credit,” Patriots coach Michael Jebbia said. “It wasn’t so much how we played but rather how well University played. They are an excellent team.
“I can’t fault our effort.”
Wheeling Park doubled University point guard Kaden Metheny only to see 6-3 guard K.J. McClurg pick up the slack by scoring 26.
Metheny, one of the premier point guards in the Mountain State, finished with 13 points while exhibiting tremendous ball skills.
Junior standout Alex Vargo paced Wheeling Park with 18 points while senior dandy Keondre’ King ended his 1,000-point plus career with 13. De’Vaughn McWhorter chipped in with 12 points.
University owned a 34-23 halftime lead and maintained a 44-32 cushion after three periods. The Patriots mounted several late-game charges but were continually stymied by the Hawks’ foul shooting. The winners made 11-of-13 free throws during the final eight minutes and 18-of-21 overall.
“You hate to see the season end like this but we had a good year. It was nice to play the regional game at home and we made the OVAC finals,” Jebbia said.
University will be the No. 2 seed in Charleston next week, facing No. 7 Musselman in the state quarterfinals.
