WHEELING — Seton-La Salle held off the Wheeling Park Patriots 62 – 58 in the first game of the 7th Annual Cancer Research Classic on the campus of Wheeling Jesuit University.
La Salle (9 – 0), out of Pittsburgh, PA, jumped out to a quick 10 – 2 lead thanks to two early threes by senior guard, Dale Clancy. Wheeling Park (4 – 2) would bounce back, though as they finished the quarter on a 15 – 11 run to cut the La Salle lead down to one at 18 – 17. The first quarter rush was aided by Elijah Bell’s 3 rebounds and 2 assists off of the Patriot bench.
Park would take the lead into the half thanks to the shooting of Trenton Smith and Toddy Goodwin-Rowe who combined for 13 of Park’s 17 points in the second frame to go up 34 – 32.
The game would remain close throughout the second half with the help of three players who were unseen in the first two quarters. 16 of La Salle’s 30 points would come from Malik White and Christian DelGreco while Ryan Reinbeau would help Park with 15 of their 24 second-half points.
La Salle held a 4-point advantage late in the game when Bell hit a 3 with 1:20 left to cut the Rebel lead to 56 – 55. They would get the ball back down 3 twice, but turnovers by Reinbeau and Bell with less than 45 seconds left would seal Park’s fate.
Reinbeau lead the Patriots with 15 points while Trenton Smith scored 14. Phil Bledsoe barely missed a double-double with 9 points and 9 boards.
Dale Clancy was named the game MVP with 16 points (5 – 13 3pt) and 6 assists while Ryan Norkus lead all scorers with 17 points and 9 rebounds. DelGreco and White also scored double digits with 11 and 14 respectively.
