PDT Sports Writer

WAVERLY - Kryptonite for the Wheelersburg basketball team must be playing away from against teams with the name Tigers.

Coming into action Friday, Wheelersburg's lone loss came at the hands of McClain. The Pirates suffered their second defeat on Friday. A packed house saw Waverly upset Wheelersburg 60-57 on Tuesday.

With the win the Tigers force a tie for first place in the SOC II with Wheelersburg. Both teams stand at 10-1 in the conference.

After calling timeout, down by three early in the fourth quarter, the Tigers seemed to play at another level. Trevor Walls hit a pair of free throws with 5:30 to put Waverly up 47-46. After a Pirate turnover, Walls was able to connect on a shot to give Waverly a three-point edge with 4:45 left. The Tigers were able to knock down free throws down the stretch and upset the Pirates 60-57.

In the opening quarter, Waverly jumped out to a 5-3 lead, just over three minutes into the contest. Wheelersburg quickly answered and knotted the game at five. Wheelersburg was able to gain momentum and built a 12-9 lead with 1:55 to go in the opening stanza. The Waverly defense held the Pirates without a field goal for the remainder on the first period and Wheelersburg took a 13-11 lead into the second quarter.

Just 17 seconds into the second period, Walls scored on a layup and drew a foul. Walls completed the 3-point play to give Waverly a one-point advantage.

Seth Cowgill had the answer for Wheelersburg. With 5:09 left in the half, Camden Miller was whistled for his second personal foul and had to sit down. The Tigers took advantage of Miller being on the bench, and ended the half on a 8-4 spurt and took a 28-24 lead into the locker room.

In the third quarter, Wheelersburg started off hot and when Miller nailed a three with five minutes left, the Pirates had a one point lead. The Pirates pushed their lead to four at 39-35 with 2:49 left in the stanza. Ramone Conley nailed a three, and cut the Wheelersburg lead to one. Miller answered with a long ball of his own to extend the lead back to four, 42-38. Each team converted on a field goal before the end of the third quarter and the Pirates took a 44-41 edge into the final period.

In the final stanza, Waverly took a timeout trailing by three 46-43. After a Tiger bucket, Walls hit pair of free throws to give Waverly a one point edge, with five and half minutes to go. After Walls and Miller traded buckets the Tigers still held one point lead. Wheelersburg quickly erased with a basket and the a lay-up off a Tiger turnover to give the Pirates a 52-51 edge with 2:10 left in the contest.

The Tigers hit 7 of 8 free throws down the stretch to push the lead to six points with 16.9 seconds to go. Cowgill drained a three for the Pirates but a prayer at the buzzer would not be answered and Waverly pulled off the upset.

“They did better in situation than we did,” Wheelersburg coach Tom Barrick said. “We didn't stop them, they stopped us.”

“It's a great win for our program our community, but most of all our seniors,” Waverly coach Andy Seddelmyer said.

BRET BEVENS can be reached at (740) 353-3101 ext. 241.

Wheelersburg 13 11 20 13 - 57

Waverly 11 17 13 19 - 60

Wheelersburg - Cook 3 0 8, Cowgill 3 0 7, Spradlin 3 4 10, Salyers 1 0 2, Miller 10 3 25, Stegman 2 1 5. Totals 22 8 57.

Waverly - Ra. Conley 2 3 8, Williamson 4 2 11, Good 2 0 4, Ro. Conley 2 1 5, Hilton 6 4 16, Walls 5 6 16. Totals 21 16 60.

3-pointers - Wheelersburg 5 (Cowgill, Cook 2, Miller 2). Waverly 2 (Ra. Conley, Williamson).

Records - Waverly 12-4 (10-1) Wheelersburg 14-2 (10-1)