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BEAVER — In a game that featured numerous ties and 13 lead changes, a last-minute defensive stop helped seal a home victory for Eastern on Tuesday.
With just 51 seconds to play, Eastern’s Declan Davis scored inside the paint to give the Eagles (4-1) their final lead of the night. It also set up the defensive heroics to give the Eagles a 49-48 victory over Portsmouth West — the team’s fourth win in five starts.
The game’s many momentum swings began in the opening quarter with West jumping out to a 4-0 lead, behind buckets from Logan Wolfenbarker and Christian Quirasco.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Eastern drew things even, but a Wolfenbarker triple gave the Senators the lead at the 3:54 mark in the first. Eastern’s Boston Webb gave the Eagles their first lead of the night as he splashed a triple with 1:50 to play in the first.
That pace of play never let up.
The teams traded the lead again, with Wolfenbarker hitting a pull-up jumper from the free throw line, before Davis hit a deep 3 in the closing seconds of the quarter to give Eastern a 15-13 advantage through eight minutes.
An early triple from Tucker Leist, a putback bucket from Wyatt Richardson, and another score from Leist gave the Eagles their largest lead at 22-13 with 6:18 to play in the second.
As Eastern deployed Aiden Werner to try and slow down Wolfenbarker, the Senators (4-1) needed a spark, which they found in junior Will Kegley.
Kegley put together a personal 11-3 run over the next four minutes of play, showing off his skillset in multiple drives to the hoop. He pulled the Senators to within one before Leist found Webb open in the corner for another 3 with 2:05 to play.
Both teams went cold for the remainder of the half, at least until West’s Corbin Miller dialed long distance in the final seconds to cut the Eagles’ lead to 28-27 at the break.
With the Eagles coming out of the locker room cold, the Senators took early advantage with back-to-back scores from Kegley, before another momentum swing came when Kegley picked up his third foul with 6:06 remaining in the third, forcing the guard to the bench with a 31-29 lead.
After a successful trip to the foul line for Leist, he found Webb for another corner triple with 5:08 to play in the stanza.
West’s Miller and Eastern’s Werner traded shots in the paint before another cold spell hit for the Eagles. Meanwhile, Miller added another basket to give the Senators a 37-36 lead through three quarters of play.
West was able to extend its lead, thanks in part to scores from Miller and Kegley, but also because of a swarming defense that slowed the potent Eagle attack. Kegley’s score with 4:40 made it a 41-36 lead for West — its largest of the night.
However, it would be short-lived as Werner dropped off a pass to Leist, who buried a deep transition 3 with 4:18 to play. A driving layup from Webb then tied the game with 3:35 remaining.
West quickly answered with a deep triple from sophomore Braden Adkins on his first shot of the game, but Leist matched the trey with one of his own with 2:52 to play.
The unlikely heroics continued for the Senators as Mason Parker scored his first basket on a put back with 2:10 to play, taking the lead back to the West side.
Eastern went back in front on its next possession as Webb made another huge play. After a hesitation dribble gave the sophomore a step on his defender, he finished a right-handed driving layup through contact at the 1:52 mark, drawing the foul and temporarily tying the game. He then put his Eagles in front with the ensuing foul shot.
West, however, seized the lead right back as Parker drove across the lane before hitting Kegley inside on a throwback pass, where the junior pump-faked before finishing inside with 1:36 to play, going ahead 48-47.
Later in the game, after a missed, contested layup, there was a long rebound that Werner corralled before passing out to Leist near the top of the key. Leist saw that Davis had slipped away from his defender inside and sent in a perfect pass to allow Davis to quickly score with 49 seconds to play.
Following multiple timeouts, it appeared that West got the matchup it wanted. But Webb was able to make a massive block in the lane with 22 seconds to play. West still maintained possession, getting another look from deep before it bounced away to Parker, who was fouled with 13 seconds to play, setting up an inbounds play for a chance to win it.
However, it would be for naught. A decent look rimmed out, leading to the Eagles controlling possession and eventually running out the remainder of the clock for a hard-fought victory.
West was led in a losing effort by Kegley with a game-high 23 points while Miller added nine points and pulled down six rebounds. The Senators return to the road on Monday as they travel to Rock Hill.
Eastern was led by Webb with 19 points while Leist added 15 points and a game-high six assists, including the game-winning assist to Davis, who finished with seven.
The Eagles will be off until Dec. 27 when they travel to Piketon to take on Huntington in a Holiday Classic.
BOX SCORE
West (48): Kegley 23, Miller 9, Wolfenbarker 7, Quirasco 4, Adkins 3, Parker 2. 20-41 FG, 4-11 3pt, 4-7 FT
Eastern (49): Webb 19, Leist 15, Davis 7, Werner 4, Richardson 2, Weaver 2. 18-42 FG, 7-15 3pt, 6-9 FT
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