PARKERSBURG - Magnolia's Mark Winters poured in a game-high 39 points, but more importantly delivered in the clutch when the outcome was on the line in the fourth quarter as the Blue Eagles bested Chaminade Julienne 69-63 on the first night of the Jack Stephens Memorial Holiday Tournament Friday at Memorial Fieldhouse.
Magnolia improved to 6-0 on the season while Chaminade from Dayton, Ohio dropped to 3-4 and will play tourney host Parkersburg High at 7:15 p.m. today on the second night of the event.
Chaminade led 3-0, but never again as the Blue Eagles jumped out to a 19-8 advantage after one period of play with Winters tallying 12 points, including two treys, in a 9-0 run started on a 3-ball by freshman point guard Preston Boswell to propel Magnolia from an 8-6 edge into a 17-6 lead at the 1:13 mark.
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Photo by Jeff Baughan
Magnolia's Mark Winters shoots over Chaminade's Evan Clayborne Friday during their game at Memorial Fieldhouse. Magnolia won, 69-63.
The margin reached as much as 17 twice in the second stanza, the second time at 33-16, before Chaminade ran off the next six points to narrow the gap to 33-22. But Boswell canned a pair of free throws with 10.5 seconds to go in the half for a 35-22 spread at intermission.
The third quarter saw the tide swing back and forth. Magnolia first upped its advantage to 19, only to see Chaminade go on a 10-0 spurt to cut the deficit to nine at 41-32 and then to eight twice in last 36 seconds to trail only 48-40 heading to the final period.
But after a trey by Justin Clark, who led Chaminade with 23 points, made it a five-point game at 48-43, Winters rode to the rescue for the Blue Eagles, sinking four straight shots in a span of 1:16 to not only keep his team on top, but also increase its lead to nine at 57-48 with 4:57 to play.
Still, Chaminade drew as close as four at 64-60 with 1:22 remaining. But Boswell hit four of six foul shots in the last 40 seconds of the game to keep Chaminade at bay down the stretch.
Zach Willhoite and Boswell each added 14 points for Magnolia, while Tim Riley netted 11 and C.J. Raizzi collected 10 for Chaminade.
After Magnolia avenged a 72-35 loss last year, also in Parkersburg, to Chaminade, Blue Eagle head coach Dave Tallman gave Winters ''a lot of credit'' for the 6-0 start. ''He's had success, but hasn't rested on that. He just keeps getting better and working hard, and brings the level (of play) of everybody up.
''We've never really had a 'go-to' guy here like Mark since Ted Talkington played, so he's definitely going to get the ball in his hands. But the nice thing is that we have role players too, so if they double up on him, I've got other guys who can score as well.''
