Wheeling 62, Maine East 61

Ten minutes after the final buzzer had sounded, Wheeling boys basketball coach Lou Wool was still trying to get a handle on what had just transpired.

The Wildcats were down by 8 points with 1:25 left in the game before their shooters came alive. Four straight 3-pointers helped Wheeling cut the deficit to a point.

Then Chris McClellan found Alex Chery alone under the basket for the game-winning layup with nine seconds left in a 62-61 nonconference win over visiting Maine East on Tuesday.

"That was just unbelievable," Wool said. "It's a shock that we came back and won."

Down 56-48, Michael Barton (20 points) hit a deep 3, then after a pair of free throws from Blue Demon Danhi Wilson (13 points), Barton hit a turn-around 3 a few feet behind the line.

McClellan hit a very deep 3 to make it 59-57 before Barton hit another long 3 with 27 seconds remaining.

"Mike Barton was sick (with the stomach flu) the first half," McClellan said. "He just lit them up in the second half. That fade-away was crazy."

Wheeling (13-10) had to scramble after Wilson broke its full-court press, but James Kurtz (14 points) made the defensive play of the game by poking the ball loose to give his team possession.

McClellan (16 points, 5 assists, 4 steals) then ran a high screen-and-roll with Chery (8 points, 7 rebounds) and found the 6-foot-4 senior for a wide-open layup.

Maine East (15-9) still had a chance for the win but Wilson's long jumper at the buzzer fell short.

"It is tough to fathom," said Maine East coach Glenn Olson. "I think they hit their last six (3s) and they were all 23 feet-plus. That was unlike anything I've ever seen."

Dwight Davis scored 15, Nusrath Khan added 11 points and Avery Roche had 14 points, 10 rebounds and 7 steals for the Blue Demons.