Big shots fall as Charleroi fends off McGuffey
Luke Campbell/Observer-Reporter
Charleroi’s Zach Usher winces in pain during the third quarter after injuring his ankle. Usher returned to the game and helped lead the Cougars to a victory over McGuffey.
Charleroi’s Zach Usher dribbles the ball during a game last seasson. Usher is one of two returning starters for the Cougars.
McGuffey's Nate Witkowsky drives to the hoop in a game against Charleroi.
CLAYSVILLE – Will Wagner couldn’t miss.
The Charleroi High School boys basketball sophomore knew it. His teammates knew it. And, eventually, everybody that packed the McGuffey High School gym realized it.
Wagner made one clutch shot after the next, including five three-pointers, to lead Charleroi over McGuffey, 57-51, in a Class 3A Section 4 game Friday night.
“After I made the first shot, I knew they were going in,” Wagner said. “I’m just getting that mindset that I’m going to make it and go with the flow.”
It wasn’t how many Wagner scored – he finished with 17 points – but in the critical times his shots fell through the basket. Twice late in the third quarter, he made a three-pointer after McGuffey had trimmed the deficit to one possession. Wagner then ended the third quarter on a baseline three with 36 seconds and opened the fourth by draining a shot from behind the arc as he was left wide open.
“He’s been real streaky for the last three or four games,” Charleroi coach Bill Wiltz said. “He poured in 30 in a loss to Belle Vernon. That broke him out of his shell about four games ago. We had an answer every time (McGuffey) started making a run at us.”
The Highlanders played from behind the length of the game. They fell behind 9-2 in the opening four minutes, trailed by double digits four separate times in the second quarter but had a five-point deficit, 27-22, at halftime because of a run led by C.J. Cole to end the first half.
Cole, who had the attention of Charleroi (5-1, 10-4) all night, still finished with a game-high 24 points. Nate Witkowsky added 10 points for the Highlanders. The two were the only players for McGuffey, outside of a pair of three-pointers by Brock Wallace, to score through the first three-and-a-half quarters.
“One thing that we’ve struggled with is consistency,” McGuffey coach Mike Fatigante said. “That was evident tonight. That led to an early deficit and ended up being the difference. (Charleroi) is better than we are and it showed tonight. It’s hard to win games when you can’t make shots and you throw the ball to the other team. We did both tonight.”
The win leapfrogs the Cougars over McGuffey (4-1, 11-3) in the section standings. Now on a five-game winning streak since Dec. 28, Charleroi is only a half-game behind Washington for first place. The Cougars and Prexies will meet again next week.
After Wagner’s three-pointer to begin the fourth quarter, which extended the lead to 47-37, the Highlanders never cut their deficit to fewer than six points.
Joey Caruso led Charleroi with 21 points. The Cougars made eight three-pointers on the night.
“We are playing so much better as a team, together,” Wiltz said. “We are finding the open man and knocking down threes. Our biggest guy is 6-1. We don’t have much of an inside presence, but if we are hitting threes we are going to be tough. As soon as it got to nervous time we hit a big shot.”