WEIRTON — The Weir boys basketball team would not be denied against Wheeling Park.

Weir trailed by seven at the end of the third quarter, but the Red Riders outscored the Patriots by seven in the fourth to send the game into overtime. Weir led by as many as five in overtime, however, Wheeling Park came back and knotted the score at 49.

After a timeout, the home team inbounded the ball with 19.6 seconds on the clock, and Anthony Jefferson drove to the basket for the go-ahead score with about four seconds remaining to give Weir a 51-49 victory Tuesday night on Ron “Fritz” Williams Court inside the carl Hamill Fieldhouse.

“Damir Mowder was supposed to have the ball,” Weir (1-1) head coach Anthony Santangelo said about the game-winning play. “Jefferson got the ball, he was 1-0n-1, and he drove to the basket. It was supposed to be an Iso play for Damir. Jeffers got the ball, and he drove to the basket and he got the layup.”

After the basket by Jeffers, Wheeling Park (1-1) head coach Michael Jebbia frantically tried to call a timeout with 3.9 seconds still showing on the scoreboard clock, however, was not awarded to him, and the Patriots desperation play was unsuccessful as time ran out giving Weir the victory.

Or did it?

With the players and coaches on the court, Jebbia ran to two officials stating his case that he called a timeout. The officials huddled together and determined that Jebbia did in fact call timeout, and they put three seconds back on the clock.

The Patriots inbounded the ball and the visitors got the ball just past halfcourt, however, they were unable to get a shot off before time expired giving the Red Riders the victory.

“They went up 37-30, and then they pulled the ball out,” Santangelo said. “They did not attack. I told our guys to stay in it. We were gritty. I told them we had to guard them. We got a couple of deflections, we got some steals and we were able to get out in transition and get some easy buckets.

“We made it 37-32, and it was the same thing. We had to grind it out. It was great to see. Our kids did not quit. They never quit.”

The score was deadlocked at 26, before back-to-back 3-pointers by the boys in blue gave them a 32-26 lead, and the boys from Ohio County hit another 3-pointer at the buzzer to give themselves a 37-30 lead entering the fourth.

The two teams traded points as Wheeling Park took a 39-32 lead, however, the Red-and-Black refused to go away quietly as they stormed back to knot the score at 41 with 39 seconds left on the clock.

The Patriots had a chance to win the game, and after the ball was knocked out of bounds, Wheeling Park inbounded the ball with 32.7 seconds remaining in regulation. The Patriots let the clock run down, however, a pass into the paint was knocked away resulting in a turnover, however, the Red Riders committed a turnover of their own moments later to give the ball back to the Patriots with 2 seconds left on the clock.

Wheeling Park was able to inbound the ball, and the Patriots got a 3-pointer off before time expired, however, the shot came up short sending the game into overtime.

“We have a young team,” Santangelo said. “We have guys like Syncere Stevenson, who have never been in that situation before. We Will learn from this. Those guys felt the pressure.

“They would make a basket, and we would come right back.

“In overtime, we started off with a basket. We just kept playing. We did not put our heads down. I am so proud of these guys. We were down the whole game. We kept believing and we got the win.

“Ezell Grays really stepped up. Jeffers scored 18, and Mowder had 11. It was a good team win.”

Santangelo said he did not know when was the last time Weir defeated Wheeling Park.

“They are a big school,” Santangelo said. “Coach Jebbia is the best. He’s a great coach. We talk. We’re friends. I student taught with him.

“He has a new team, too. They will learn from this. They’ll grow. They are going to be good. I wish them the best of luck in the rest of their season.”

The boys in white opened the scoring in overtime as Weir took a 43-41 lead with 3:32 left to play in the ballgame. Wheeling Park responded with a 3 to retake the lead, and ultimately the Patriots built a 49-44 advantage with 1:21 showing on the clock, however, Wheeling Park did not score the rest of the way.

Two free throws pulled Weir to within 49-46 with 58.1 seconds on the clock, and then after a few turnovers, the Red Riders drained a 3 to even the score at 49-all.

Jeffers finished with a team-high 18 points, and Mowder was the only other Weir player to reach double digits in scoring. Grays recorded eight points in the win.

JD Williams tallied a game-high 23 points to lead the way offensively for Wheeling Park, while Josh Huffman finished with 12 and Jay Bordas added nine.

“I was surprised they pulled it out,” Santangelo said. “They pulled the ball out, and we took advantage of it. Our help defense tonight was so good. We got after it on defense, and we were able to get some deflections and some steals.

“We were able to contain JD Williams in the second half. He had points in the first half. Not counting overtime, we held him to five points in the second half.”

Weir led by two points early in the game before Wheeling Park rallied to take a 10-6 lead. The boys in white responded by scoring the last six points of the first as the victors took a 12-10 lead at the end of the quarter.

The Patriots hit three 3-pointers to build a 19-12 advantage in the second and another 3 gave Wheeling Park a 26-18 lead. The Patriots led 26-21 at halftime.

Weir responded to open the third as the Red Riders recorded the first five points of the quarter to tie the score up at 26.

“It was a big team win,” Santangelo said. “It was a defensive win. To hold Wheeling Park to 49 points is big. We came through at home. We’re gritty dogs. We continue to fight.

“Coach Jebbia does a great. He’s a great coach. He has a good team.”

Weir is scheduled to play John Marshall Friday night at home before playing Big Red at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Wheeling Park is slated to play Preston Friday night at home.

Weir 51, Wheeling Park 49 OT

Wheeling Park 10 16 11 4 8 – 49

Weir 12 9 9 11 10 – 51

WHEELING PARK (1-1): Simon 0 0-0 0, Whitmire 1 2-5 4, Bordas 3 1-2 9, Huffman 5 1-2 12, Saunders 0 1-2 1, Williams 8 3-4 23, Campbell 0 0-0 0, Creighton 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 17 8-17 49.

WEIR (1-1): Kaczmarek 2 0-0 6, Mowder 5 1-2 11, Stevenson 2 0-0 4, Douglas 1 2-2 4, Glyptis 0 0-0 0, Jeffers 9 0-0 18, Grays 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 21 7-10 51.

3-POINTERS: Wheeling Park 7 (Williams 4, Bordas 2, Huffman); Weir 2 (Kaczmarek)