Photo/CODY TOMER MARTINS FERRY’S Reuben Hilson, right, defends against Wheeling Park’s Keondre’ King during Friday night’s contest.

WHEELING — Opening night was a good night for Wheeling Park basketball.

Coach Michael Jebbia’s Patriots debuted in strong fashion, downing a tall and talented Martins Ferry quint, 60-53, in the Sam Andy Classic at WesBanco Arena Friday night.

The loss was the Purple’s first in three starts.

Junior Alex Vargo was a central figure in Park’s triumph. The 6-5 dandy dissected Ferry’s 2-3 zone for a game-high 28 points to go with 15 rebounds, 10 of the offense variety.

Vargo was no one-man show, however, as Jebbia received positive contributions from a host of performers. Senior ace Keondre’ King was strong support with 15 counters, including three treys, while athletic classmate De’Vaughn McWhorter finished with 11 counters, nine coming in a pivotal third quarter.

Dynamic point guard Jack Stakem delivered his usual solid floor game, dishing our five assists, recording a like amount of steals while delivering tenacious man defense.

“I knew that their 2-3 zone would be tough to attack with their huge size inside but I was happy with how we handled it,” Jebbia said. “We did a great job on the boards. We out-rebounded them 35-21.

“I thought the big key was De’Vaughn’s third quarter. He really stepped it up with nine points,” he continued. “Alex had a special night and Keondre’ and Jack also did a lot of good things.”

Park never trailed in the contest after shooting out to a quick 9-4 lead. The Patriots, however, could never shake the Purple. Ferry drew even at 19-19 at the 2:09 mark of the second quarter before Park took a 22-21 lead into intermission.

McWhorter’s outburst enabled Park to stretch its lead to 40-35 after three frames. The Patriots appeared to have the game well-in-hand, building a 52-42 advantage with 2:54 remaining to play.

Derek Edwards’ Riders, however, would refuse to go quietly.

Senior tower of power DeAndre Pugh delivered a three-point play with 1:20 showing to cut the deficit to 54-49. Two Vargo free throws and a Pugh bucket kept the margin at five.

Park, however, missed the front-end of a one-and-one with 42.1 seconds remaining and Ferry’s Cody Olson made the most of the opportunity for a driving layup, making it a 56-53 Park edge with 29.1 ticks left.

Park iced the verdict with a procession of free throws. Stakem meshed one with 28 seconds showing before Alex Dunlevy drained one five seconds later. Vargo delivered the final nails to the coffin with two freebies with 5.6 seconds left.

“I saw Ferry play Tuesday night against Harrison Central. I knew they would give us all we could handle,” Jebbia said. “We prepped for their zone defense and it paid dividends. Derek does a great job with them.”

Pugh, a 6-6, 270-pound all-Ohio gridder, muscled his way for 23 points. Junior dandy Dasyn Hores was next with 12 markers while rising 6-5 sophomore Logan Smith ended with eight markers.

“Our three keys tonight were minimizing turnovers, make it a 47-foot game and rebound the ball. We did two of the three,” Edwards said. “We did not rebound the basketball. They really hurt us with their offensive rebounding, especially in the second half when they were getting second and third shots.

“We were also 1-12 from the three-point line, many of which were uncontested. We need to be able to make those shots,” the former all-state Purple point guard said. “I felt the zone was the best way to stop them but they hurt us with transition points.”

The Patriots made effective use of the charity stripe, sinking 14-of-17 attempts. Ferry, meanwhile was just four-of-five.

Ferry committed 10 turnovers on the night, three more than the Patriots.

The Purple Riders are right back in action tonight, visiting rival Bellaire. Park treks to University Tuesday.