CHARLESTON, W.Va. — No. 2 South Charleston (15-1) used a 25-9 run in the third quarter to flip a one-point halftime deficit into a convincing 74-53 win over No. 4 Woodrow Wilson (12-3).
South Charleston sophomore guard Brandon Knapper led the turn around with a career-high 40 points, including 13 in the decisive third quarter as the Black Eagles upped their winning streak to 11 straight games.
“We were getting out rebounded in the first half, so coach came in and told us to box out and give them no second chances and that’s what we did and we came out with the win,” Knapper said.
A key momentum swing came in the third quarter after a technical foul on Woodrow Wilson’s Donte Nabors as the Black Eagles ended the quarter on a 14-4 run to ultimately pull away for good.
South Charleston went into the double bonus at the 1:23 mark of the third quarter as the Black Eagles were an impressive 28-of-31 from the charity stripe – Woodrow Wilson attempted only 18 free throws on the night.
Knapper collected 16 points from the foul line, to go along with four 3’s in the win. South Charleston’s A.D. Cunningham added 17 points and went a healthy 5-of-7 from the line as well.
“This one was important, they’re probably the second best team we’ve played all year,” South Charleston coach Vic Herbert said. “This game was kind of a fluke, normally when we see these guys it’s not like this, we just had their number tonight.”
Woodrow Wilson, which saw its 11 game win streak snapped, was led by Nabors who put in a team-high 16 points, while Brent Osborne chipped in eight in the loss.
Tuesday was the first meeting between the two teams this year, although potential meetings could loom in the postseason and/or the MSAC championship game.
“We want to play them again,” Knapper said. “If we do play them again, it’s going to be another tough one, we’re going to have to come out and play hard.”