Pirates bounce back behind Rucker, McGraw scoring efforts to beat Indians, 69-59

WHEELERSBURG — A second quarter surge put Wheelersburg ahead, but key scoring and defense in the second half made sure the Pirates secured a 69-59 win over the Valley Indians in a Southern Ohio Conference game on Friday night.

Due to the snow and ice that ripped through the region, the Pirates hadn't taken the floor since last Friday where they suffered their first conference loss to Waverly.

But the long lay off turned into a positive for Wheelersburg coach Alex Prater, as he felt it gave the team time to regroup and focus in on this game.

"We had to get back to what we did well. It started on the defensive end, we got to make people earn stuff against us. We have to rebound the basketball, get in transition and share the ball on offense. I didn't think we were efficient at that at all at Waverly, so for us to come in and be more efficient and get a big league win, credit the kids for getting it done."

Wheelersburg was led by Braylon Rucker, who did most of his damage in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 of his team-high 23 points. McGraw earned most of his 17 points in the second and fourth quarters and had a game-high 9 rebounds. Hunter Bivens added 11 points and 4 rebounds in the win.

The loss overshadowed Jalen Dunham and Blake Lundy's offensive performances, as Dunham finished with a game-high 26 points and 5 rebounds.Lundy ended the night with 21 points and 5 boards.

"Give Valley a ton of credit, they always play very tough against us. You know they're going to make their runs. Basketball is a game of runs and they got off to a good start," said Prater. "Then they came out at halftime and went on a run in the third quarter. But we're proud of our kids for how they responded."

Holding onto a 4-point lead to begin the second quarter, the Pirates were able to get stops and get their transition game going, especially in the final 4 minutes of the half.

The run was highlighted by Graer Woodward coming up with a steal and score to begin the run. Then Rucker scored in transition and McGraw capped off the first half scoring with a 3-pointer in front of the Valley bench to send the Pirates into the locker room with a 33-19 lead.

During the third, Lundy began to heat up and score 11 points to help Valley rally back.

The Indians (10-4, 4-3 SOC) shrank the lead to 41-34 when Lundy scored on a layup with just under a minute remaining in the quarter.

Valley's surge continued into the opening minutes of the fourth, as Dunham scored twice to keep the deficit at 5. Then Jaxsyn Bender banked in a trey in front of the Valley bench to make the score 43-41 with 6:24 to go.

While it wasn't a situation the Pirates (9-3, 6-1) wanted to be in, Prater said his team was prepared for moments like these.

"Basketball is a game of runs and we preach that to our kids a lot. We play good teams and part of being at Wheelersburg, you're always going to get their best shot," said Prater. "They're going to go on runs and it's how you respond and we responded the right way."

Well, the Pirates responded and in a big way.

Needing to answer on their next possession, Rucker knocked a 3-pointer from near the top of the key and ignited a 10-2 scoring run over a 2-minute span to put the Pirates in the drivers' seat the rest of the way.

Rucker and Bivens both scored on layups, then McGraw capped off the run with a 3-pointer after catching a pass from Woodward to make the score 53-43.

Eventually Valley was forced to foul and force the Pirates to clinch the game from the foul line.

Wheelersburg delivered from the charity stripe in the final 90 seconds, converting 11-of-14 to seal the victory.

The Pirates' rebounding came into play in that final quarter as well, as they out-rebounded the Indians 9-5, with McGraw pulling down some critical defensive rebounds and Woodward coming up with 2 key offensive boards to help keep the ball out of Valley's hands.

"We really challenge them. I thought we gave up some offensive rebounds early and weren't happy about it," said Prater. "But down the stretch I'm proud of the kids for narrowing in and focusing and boxing out and getting us the win."

Valley 9 10 15 25  =  59

Wheelersburg 13 20 8 28  =  69

VALLEY (10-4, 4-3): Jalen Dunham 8 2 4-6 26, Jaxsyn Bender 1 1 0-0 5, Christian Copen 2 0 0-0 4, Elliott Franke 0 0 0-0 0, Blanke Lundy 5 3 2-2 21, Isaiah Clark 0 0 0-0 0, Braxten Conaway 0 1 0-0 3, Jehu Howard 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 7 6-8 59. Rebounds: 26 (Copen 6, Lundy 6, Dunham 5). Turnovers: 7. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: None.

WHEELERSBURG (9-3, 6-1): Braylon Rucker 5 3 4-7 23, Hunter Bivens 2 1 4-4 11, Xavier Miller 2 1 2-2 9, Jack Doerr 1 0 2-2 4, Brew Hanzel 0 0 0-0 0, Landon McGraw 3 3 2-3 17, Graer Woodward 2 0 1-4 5. Totals: 15 8 15-22 69. Rebounds: 27 (McGraw 9, Bivens 4, Miller 4, Woodward 4). Turnovers: 8. Fouls: 9. Fouled out: None.