CITY CHAMPS — The Weir High basketball team celebrates with the city championship trophy after defeating Madonna in the annual game on Friday night. – Aaron Petchal
WEIRTON — The Weir boys basketball team had plenty of reasons to celebrate Friday night.
Weir broke open a close game against city-rival Madonna in the third quarter as the Red Riders pulled away for the Blue Dons en route to an 80-56 victory in the annual city championship game on Ron “Fritz” Williams Court inside the Carl Hamill Fieldhouse.
Friday night was also senior night for Weir, and the victory enabled the Red Riders to sweep the season series from the Blue Dons.
“It means everything to the kids,” Weir (6-15) head coach Anthony Santangelo said about winning the city championship. “It is a great win. It is good for the kids. It is good for the seniors. It is a beautiful night.”
Madonna trailed by nine at halftime, and the Blue Dons closed the gap early in the third, however, the Red Riders were able to right the ship before pulling away in the fourth.
“We have a short lineup,” first-year Madonna (6-15) head coach Matt Arlia said. “We have guys who play a lot of minutes. We’re a very youthful team.”
The Red Riders outscored the Dons 23-9 in the fourth to secure the 24-point victory.
“We just said in the locker room that we played hard, we played with a lot energy and that is what we asked them to do,” Arlia said. “Kaczmarek got hot. I think he hit five 3s in the second half.
“Coach Santangelo does a tremendous job. We knew they were going to pressure us. They had guys hit some open shots. They made us be more aggressive on defense than we wanted to be.”
The hosts outscored the visitors by one in the third before breaking the game wide open in the fourth.
“We started defending, we rebounded and offensively, we did a good job,” Santangelo said about what enabled his team to regain control of the game in the third. “We moved the ball. We moved without the ball. We were able to get into the paint. We want to draw them to us in the paint. Justin Kaczmarek hit some outside shots. We were able to get into the paint and kick the ball out. Then, we were able to expand our lead in the fourth quarter.”
Three players scored at least 20 points to lead the way offensively for Weir. Individually, Kaczmarek collected a game-high 26 points, Damir Mowder delivered 20 and Anthony Jeffers finished with 20.
Four players finished in double figures for the visitors. Individually, Connor Carte contributed a team-high 16 points to lead the way on offense. Also, Brayden Miller delivered 14 points, Andre Crossland tallied 13 and Reno Fuscardo recorded 11.
“We expected them to play zone, but they did not,” Santangelo said. “Their coach did a good job. They did a better job against our pressure. We played man-to-man full court. We played a lot of guys. We subbed guys in, and I think they got tired. They got in foul trouble early, and so did we. I am proud of our guys. It is a great win.”
Weir defeated Madonna, 85-50, in the first meeting of the season Jan. 15 inside the Dube Dome.
“We handled their pressure a lot better than we did the first time,” Arlia said. “The first time, they jumped us, and we struggled with their pressure. Tonight, we did a better job against their pressure. That was the biggest thing. We still struggle on defense.”
The hosts got off to a good start as they were able to build a 20-13 lead at the end of the quarter. The victors extended their advantage to 38-29 entering the locker room at halftime. Weir led 57-47 entering the fourth.
Weir’s two seniors — Mowder and Jeffers — were honored before the game.
“Damir Mowder is a special dude,” Santangelo said. “He’s a special kid. He has played for four years. He has played three sports for four years. We have a good relationship. He is a special kid. He and I have a good relationship. I am going to miss him.
“I’m going to miss Anthony too. Anthony is a great kid. He is a hard worker. He grew. He took some lumps his freshman and sophomore years. He came on last year. He is a good player. He listens. He is a great kid.
“They are both great kids. We are going to miss them a lot. They are just excellent kids. They represent the school and the community well.”
There was no JV game. The game was supposed to be the nightcap of a girls and boys doubleheader, however, the girls game was postponed to 7 p.m. Monday at Weir.
Both teams are scheduled to play Thursday. Madonna is slated to play Cameron at home on its senior night. The Dragons defeated the Blue Dons, 57-54, in the first meeting of the season Feb. 4 at Cameron.
Meanwhile, Weir is set to take on rival Brooke on the road inside the Brooke Wellness Center. The Bruins defeated the Red Riders, 39-33, in the first meeting Jan. 30 at Weir.
“Brooke is a rival, and now it is a regional game,” Santangelo, who graduated from Brooke, said. “It is going to be a good test. They beat us by six points the first time. It is good we have about a week break before we play. Starting tomorrow, we are going to get locked in.”
Weir 80, Madonna 56
Madonna 13 16 18 9 – 56
Weir 20 18 19 23 – 80
MADONNA (6-15): DoBraska 1 0-0 2, Miller 3 7-8 14, Carte 7 1-3 17, Crossland 6 1-2 13, Gray 0 0-0 0, Fuscardo 4 3-4 11, Wingett 0 0-0 0, Canterbury 0 0-0 0, Snodgrass 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 21 12-16.
WEIR (6-15): J. Kaczmarek 9 2-2 26, Mowder 8 6-9 22, Stevenson 3 0-0 6, Haught 0 0-2 0, Glyptis 0 0-0 0, Jeffers 8 3-7 20, Meneely 0 0-0 0, Hortsman 0 0-0 0, E. Kaczmarek 0 0-0 0, Grays 2 2-2 6. TOTALS: 30 13-22 80.
3-POINTERS: Madonna 2 (Miller, Carte); Weir 7 (J. Kaczmarek 6, Jeffers)
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