#1 Peebles vs. #4 Wheelersburg, 3/6 District Semi-Final

[Burg_Grad_77]

Nice article in the PDT about the game. I highlighted a few key points. Justice was 10/28 from the field for 27 points while Stegman had 31 and 18 rebounds. Justice hit 4 three pointers, but I wonder how many of those 28 shots were from beyond the arc. One of the big keys was the Burg outscoring the Indians 16/6 at the line and freshman Dylan Miller have 6 points and playing a huge game defensive.

Pirates outmuscle Indians 63-58 in OT
by Cody Leist, PDT Sports Writer Portsmouth Daily Times

ATHENS – For the second game in a row, the Wheelersburg Pirates needed overtime to settle their tournament game.

In Sunday's Division III Southeast District Semifinal at Ohio University's Convocation Center, the Pirates and the Peebles Indians needed more than the 32 minutes in a regulation game. Wheelersburg's effort in the extra frame was too much for the Indians, prevailing 63-58.

“The thing I was most pleased with was in the fourth quarter when (Peebles) hit a couple of shots back-to-back”, Pirates coach Tom Barrick said. “We went from a seven-point lead to a three-point deficit. It was a big swing and our kids never wavered on the fact that we were going to win that ball game.”

The game featured two of the marquee players in the Division III Southeast District in Wheelersburg forward Andy Stegman and Peebles guard Blake Justice. The styles of the two teams contrasted each other as the Pirates relied on the inside game while the Indians were considered to be a more-perimeter oriented offense.

“We talked for the last nine days about (Stegman) and what we were going to do,” Peebles coach Josh Arey said. “...We're a perimeter-based team and when shots aren't falling, it makes it a little bit more difficult for us.”

Before the start of the fourth quarter, there were seven ties and three lead changes. The remaining 12 minutes of the game proved to be just as competitive.

Trailing 43-36, the Indians went on a 10-0 run to take the lead at 46-43, their first since a 15-13 advantage early in the second. The run was mainly created by Justice, who finished the game and his high school career with 27 points on 10-of-28 shooting from the field.

“He's a battler, he's a competitor, he's a super kid and is a great basketball player,” Arey said. “We're really going to miss him. You don't realize how good he is, I just feel bad for him.”

While Justice was heating up for Peebles, Stegman had a few tricks up his sleeve. The senior scored seven-straight points, including a 3-pointer right next to the end of the Wheelersburg bench and tied the game at 50-50.

Justice took the next possession and put in a layup to give the Indians the 52-50 lead with 25 seconds left to go. But after a Pirate timeout, Stegman nailed a fadeaway from the right elbow with two seconds left to send the game into overtime.

Barrick felt that Stegman and Justice stepped up each others' games when it came to crunch time. Stegman finished with a game-high 31 points and 18 rebounds, with nine coming offensively and all in the first half.

“Obviously Andy has to play that well or we don't win,” Barrick said. “Our other guys have to get him the basketball or we don't win...He made some great plays individually.”

The overtime session belonged to Wheelersburg, which outscored Peebles 11-6. Justice created a 3-point play to pull the Indians to within two at 60-58 but that was the closest his team would get.

The two teams rarely wavered from their game plans. Of the 22 field goals made by Wheelersburg, 19 were inside the arc. Peebles made 10 3-pointers and 11 field goals from 2-point range.

“We were more concerned with guarding the paint than just the (3-point) circle,” Barrick said. “...They're averaging 78 points a game. If they get 30 from the circle and we turn around and give them 50 in the paint, then we're on the wrong side of that score,” Barrick added.

The Pirates attention now turns to Saturday's district championship game, where Ironton will be the opponent. The Fighting Tigers beat Meigs 70-64 in another district semifinal.

The Indians finish their season at 20-2, something Arey will not fluff off. He loses eight seniors from a squad that made its third district appearance in the four years at the school.

“They've meant the world to us, these kids have been this way since they were young,” Arey said. “They've always competed and played hard. We're heading in a great direction in large part because of those kids.”

CODY LEIST can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at (740) 353-3101 ext. 242.

Wheelersburg 13 10 14 13 11 – 63

Peebles 13 7 12 20 6 – 58

Wheelersburg – McBee 3 1 7, Schankweiler 1 3 5, Ballard 4 4 14, Stegman 11 8 31, Miller 3 0 6, Totals 22 16 63.

Peebles – Justice 11 1 27, Countryman 7 0 18, McFarland 2 0 6, Daniels 1 5 7, Totals 22 6 58.

3-Pointers – Wheelersburg 3 (Ballard 2, Stegman); Peebles 10 (Justice 4, Countryman 4, McFarland 2).

Records – Wheelersburg 17-5; Peebles 20-2.

Read more: Portsmouth Daily Times - Pirates outmuscle Indians 63 58 in OT

[Jim Mora]

Why am I not surprised? It's the SHL

SOC II> SHL

[Curious George]

Why am I not surprised? It's the SHL

SOC II> SHL

I've been an SOC guy my entire life, but I'll absolutely NEVER knock the basketball produced by the SHL. To do so is simply not doing the truth of the two leagues any justice at all.

[mikepike]

Backs up against the wall for Peebles!

With the district setup Peebles had a considerably more difficult trek than the #2 seed Piketon....no excuses....just saying.

Sounds like it to me.

[BleedGreen]

I knew the post game would be a problem for Peebles..... Good Job Peebles you had a great season it's not like you lost to a weak school.... Good Job Wheelersburg I guess the Burgs the Word again the Furnace is pull'en for you guys......

[Out of Bounds]

I was very disappointed in the defensive effort by Peebles. I've seen them twice now, and it just seemed to me they try to out score everybody. That's fine in league play, but you got to be able to do both in the tournaments. Great job by Barrick and the players for executing. Good luck.

[Crab's Brother]

As a fan of another school, I think I can give a pretty good account of what I saw. This was a great game with two great players going toe-to-toe. I think that the Burg just executed their game plan better than the Indians in this one. The biggest difference was on the glass. The Pirates dominated the glass and that was the difference. Peebles had no answer in the post.

As for the officiating, I think it was a well called game and it allowed the players to decide the game. That said, the block/charge on Stegman that allowed Justice to hit the 3 point play was a block. Andy was set down low, but his upper body swayed into Blake as he came down the lane. Great call. Also, Shank did travel on the last play in regulation. But one call did not decide this game. Congrats to the Burg for a huge win and good luck Saturday.

I do have a question for the Peebles' fans. Who was the dude with the long hair on the second row? I was so upset that they were playing music at half time because this cat was standing on his seat just screaming at the team but I couldn't make out what he was saying. I admit, I couldn't quit looking at him during the second half. LOL.

[4thgoal]

Sooooooo where was that bus driver?

He was last seen headed north on Court St.....

[curly neal]

okay im gonna settle the debate.......... was talkin to a guy this weekend at the convo, that said peebles coach all week said we have to rebound if we want any chance to beat burg. was told burg quoted the only way we beat peebles is , we must control the boards. AND THAT MY FRIENDS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. as for the fouls,,,,,,,,,,,, if this would have been a league game, the fouls would have been more even, believe me it happens., the unwritten rule of tournament is let the kids decide the game. as for the justice kid, he s a really nice player, with that being said, i did see a few times that in my opinion he tried to do too much on his own. cant take anything away from the burg, and good luck the rest of the way.

[yabbadabbadoo]

As a fan of another school, I think I can give a pretty good account of what I saw. This was a great game with two great players going toe-to-toe. I think that the Burg just executed their game plan better than the Indians in this one. The biggest difference was on the glass. The Pirates dominated the glass and that was the difference. Peebles had no answer in the post.

As for the officiating, I think it was a well called game and it allowed the players to decide the game. That said, the block/charge on Stegman that allowed Justice to hit the 3 point play was a block. Andy was set down low, but his upper body swayed into Blake as he came down the lane. Great call. Also, Shank did travel on the last play in regulation. But one call did not decide this game. Congrats to the Burg for a huge win and good luck Saturday.

I do have a question for the Peebles' fans. Who was the dude with the long hair on the second row? I was so upset that they were playing music at half time because this cat was standing on his seat just screaming at the team but I couldn't make out what he was saying. I admit, I couldn't quit looking at him during the second half. LOL.

The charge, yeah it was close, could have gone either way. The traveling "no call". Yeah, it was probably a traveling but there was a reason that he traveled and that was when he tried to get out of the double team he was pushed by one of the players and nothing was called, so I think since they didn't call the foul they weren't going to call the travel. There were at least 4-5 incidences where they either called traveling on Burg or just called the Burg for being out of bounds when a peebles player blatantly shoved the Burg player. The worst one of those was when McBee had the ball on the side near the scorers table and was bumped out of bounds and no foul was called.

Like I asked above and no one ever gave an answer. When did it become okay to physically grab or push a player that has beaten you off the dribble? I see that more and more these days and I know if I'm playing against a guy that everytime I beat him off the dribble and he was grabbing me or shoving me just because I beat him, he would more than likely be eating the basketball. If you are beat, you're beat. Hope that help comes and play better defense the next time. It happened all day and was hardly ever called

[Debo]

If Peebles Boxes Out and Doesn't decide to live and die by the three, then there wouldn't even be a debate about the officiating.

[bballin]

As a fan of another school, I think I can give a pretty good account of what I saw. This was a great game with two great players going toe-to-toe. I think that the Burg just executed their game plan better than the Indians in this one. The biggest difference was on the glass. The Pirates dominated the glass and that was the difference. Peebles had no answer in the post.

As for the officiating, I think it was a well called game and it allowed the players to decide the game. That said, the block/charge on Stegman that allowed Justice to hit the 3 point play was a block. Andy was set down low, but his upper body swayed into Blake as he came down the lane. Great call. Also, Shank did travel on the last play in regulation. But one call did not decide this game. Congrats to the Burg for a huge win and good luck Saturday.

I do have a question for the Peebles' fans. Who was the dude with the long hair on the second row? I was so upset that they were playing music at half time because this cat was standing on his seat just screaming at the team but I couldn't make out what he was saying. I admit, I couldn't quit looking at him during the second half. LOL.

The charge, yeah it was close, could have gone either way. The traveling "no call". Yeah, it was probably a traveling but there was a reason that he traveled and that was when he tried to get out of the double team he was pushed by one of the players and nothing was called, so I think since they didn't call the foul they weren't going to call the travel. There were at least 4-5 incidences where they either called traveling on Burg or just called the Burg for being out of bounds when a peebles player blatantly shoved the Burg player. The worst one of those was when McBee had the ball on the side near the scorers table and was bumped out of bounds and no foul was called.

Like I asked above and no one ever gave an answer. When did it become okay to physically grab or push a player that has beaten you off the dribble? I see that more and more these days and I know if I'm playing against a guy that everytime I beat him off the dribble and he was grabbing me or shoving me just because I beat him, he would more than likely be eating the basketball. If you are beat, you're beat. Hope that help comes and play better defense the next time. It happened all day and was hardly ever called

There were fouls not called both ways all night.. They did let the kids play but in saying that Peebles continued to hit McBee, and Ballard on there 3 point attempts on there elbow or hand everytime and no call.. Shoved and held burg players all game long on defense. If you were a Burg player and drove to the basket you were getting fouled or shoved all night. Countryman was the worst for Peebles no clue how that kid did not foul out in the 1st qtr. But in saying that Burg as well got by with fouls not called. Give Peebles credit if they let you do it, why not..Great game to watch and if the refs let you play that way you got to step up and play thru it. And thats what Burg did. They found a way to win. What can you say about Stegman he had a heck of a game, great kid and athlete. Justice for Peebles is everything that he is hyped up to be. He will excel at the next level as well. Countryman can shoot the ball very well too. Tough loss for either team . Congrats to Peebles on a fine season. And Pirates for finding a way to win and advance, thats all that matters this time of year.. ..

[drrabbit]

Rebounding was the key to this game.

Rebounds: Wheelersburg 40, Peebles 24
Offensive Rebounds: Wb 15, Peebles 7

Andy Stegman had 15 rebounds while Dylan Miller had 7. Webb Ballard had five.

Blake Justice had six and Andy Countryman had five to lead Peebles.

The referees called the fouls pretty much as they saw them in the first and third quarters but as the count got lopsided in each half they backed off of calling fouls on Peebles. Ie--Peebles only had two fouls in the second quarter and none in the last 4:14 of the first half. (They had seven total in the first half...) They only had two fouls in the last six minutes of regulation--none as they caught up and took the lead.

The pictures showed that Peebles benefited a lot by the referees not calling a tight game. There was lots more they could have called. In the end though, the players decided the game.

[The D]

Rebounding was the key to this game.

Rebounds: Wheelersburg 40, Peebles 24
Offensive Rebounds: Wb 15, Peebles 7

Andy Stegman had 15 rebounds while Dylan Miller had 7. Webb Ballard had five.

Blake Justice had six and Andy Countryman had five to lead Peebles.

The referees called the fouls pretty much as they saw them in the first and third quarters but as the count got lopsided in each half they backed off of calling fouls on Peebles. Ie--Peebles only had two fouls in the second quarter and none in the last 4:14 of the first half. (They had seven total in the first half...) They only had two fouls in the last six minutes of regulation--none as they caught up and took the lead.

The pictures showed that Peebles benefited a lot by the referees not calling a tight game. There was lots more they could have called. In the end though, the players decided the game.

Agreed :aaaaa59

[da burg_07]

If Peebles Boxes Out and Doesn't decide to live and die by the three, then there wouldn't even be a debate about the officiating.

I agree. I thought the officiating was fine all night. We just simply are a much more physical team Peebles. I'm not going to say that the SHL is a weak conference, but I do think that our tough schedule helped us come tournament time. I always believe that if your a good team you should try to schedule good non-conference games to help you come tournament time, maybe even a D1 or 2 school that will help you come tournament time. Looking at Peebles's non-conference schedule, it seemed pretty weak. Playing St. Patrick, Western Latham, Southeastern, and Northwest to me doesn't exactly make your team better come tournament time. Great game overall. Good luck to the Burg!

[followthru]

I cant see how you can say burg is more physical when the foul count was 24 to 6.I think #15 might have been taking the bus to Court Street when he Jordan-like tried to cup the ball and took 4 NBA steps twice in the last 3 minutes of the game especially in the last 15 seconds.That call has to be made.The Burg fans can say what you want,it was a blown call.I am starting to question what it takes to get your high school officiating liscense.The same ref officiated the Portsmouth vs S.P. game last week and he doesn't have a clue.

[da burg_07]

I cant see how you can say burg is more physical when the foul count was 24 to 6.I think #15 might have been taking the bus to Court Street when he Jordan-like tried to cup the ball and took 4 NBA steps twice in the last 3 minutes of the game especially in the last 15 seconds.That call has to be made.The Burg fans can say what you want,it was a blown call.I am starting to question what it takes to get your high school officiating liscense.The same ref officiated the Portsmouth vs S.P. game last week and he doesn't have a clue.

I would say the fact that we outrebounded Peebles 40-24 shows that we are a bit more physical. Being physical to me has nothing to do with who fouls more? Good physical teams play hard defense without fouling, and hit the boards hard. That rebounding margin is pretty lop-sided, so I would say that constitutes us being more physical. Just my opinion.

[4thgoal]

I cant see how you can say burg is more physical when the foul count was 24 to 6.I think #15 might have been taking the bus to Court Street when he Jordan-like tried to cup the ball and took 4 NBA steps twice in the last 3 minutes of the game especially in the last 15 seconds.That call has to be made.The Burg fans can say what you want,it was a blown call.I am starting to question what it takes to get your high school officiating liscense.The same ref officiated the Portsmouth vs S.P. game last week and he doesn't have a clue.

If you are going to talk about #15 taking an extra step, also mention the fact he was getting pushed and hacked. What about #14 getting shoved onto the scorers table in the first half with no call? What about Stegman going up for a right handed layup and getting pushed completely under the basket and somehow still making a reverse with no call..... There were plenty of chances for the refs to make more calls, but as mentioned above, they wanted the players to decide the outcome of the game. While I do believe Justice is a great player, the best TEAM with the best coach won the game. I would almost bet that drrabbit has pictures to back up the examples I mentioned.

[Rodeo1]

Maybe so ,but;We will never know because the Danials kid was never given the chance to play much because of fouls.Arey and Daniels foul problems in the first half were the biggest difference in this game.Could have been alot different had Daniels been afforded the same luxuries as Stegman..Probably big difference had Stegmans fourth foul been called earlier as it should have been.A blow of the whistle here or there the other way and the talk would have been alot different.Your kids are class acts along with your coach and they deserve to crow.Revel in your glory now ,because ;after Your great coach Barrick calls it a day you will be back to square one.You just about lost him last year.

[The D]

I cant see how you can say burg is more physical when the foul count was 24 to 6.I think #15 might have been taking the bus to Court Street when he Jordan-like tried to cup the ball and took 4 NBA steps twice in the last 3 minutes of the game especially in the last 15 seconds.That call has to be made.The Burg fans can say what you want,it was a blown call.I am starting to question what it takes to get your high school officiating liscense.The same ref officiated the Portsmouth vs S.P. game last week and he doesn't have a clue.

If we're going down that road, had all of the fouls been called, all five peebles starters are on the bench for the rest of the game after the first half, so it still wouldn't have mattered, Burg wins...plus fouls have nothing to do with the physical toughness of a team...sure someone grappling, shoving, and swinging a player is physical, but going to the boards hard and taking the ball into the lane and fighting through the pushing, pulling, shoving and finding a way to still put the ball in the hole is a true show of physical play...

Revel in your glory now ,because ;after Your great coach Barrick calls it a day you will be back to square one.You just about lost him last year.

yeah, he is one of the best coaches in the area, and i dare say state, and he knows how to prepare, inspire, and whip a team into shape for the next game...but at the end of the day, it comes down to ten boys, two baskets, and a ball...the boys won this game...you are also right that fouls could have come and gone BOTH ways...Burg prepared to win, fought through the adversity, did win, and the curse continues at least for another year