Photo/CODY TOMER MONROE CENTRAL’S Austin Hogue catches a pass during Tuesday’s game against Magnolia in New Martinsville.

NEW MARTINSVILLE — Magnolia coach Dave Tallman let his team know before Tuesday’s game that the upcoming contest was pivotal in locking down an OVAC Tournament spot.

The Blue Eagles rose to the occasion.

Behind an impressive 26-point, 10 rebound performance from Qwailei Turner, Magnolia took down Monroe Central 62-43 inside Magnolia’s gymnasium.

“We talked about it,” Tallman said of possible clinching an OVAC tournament spot. “I took this as almost like a play-in game for OVAC. I think we clinched (Tuesday). We wanted to get in and we’re happy about that. We don’t care where we have to go, we’ll be ready.

The Blue Eagles are currently fourth in the OVAC Class 3A standings with a 12-3 record, while the Seminoles are sixth at 10-7.

A combination of solid defense by the Eagles and missed shots by the Seminoles caused Monroe Central to go scoreless until the 2:10 mark of the first quarter.

“We were a little sloppy in the first quarter,” Tallman said. “Offensively, we were missing some bunnies but I thought our defense kept us in it. I’m real proud of my guys.”

Tallman’s group carried a 10-4 advantage into the second quarter thanks to seven points from Jacob Gamble.

“We talked about their athleticism and their height,” Monroe Central coach Jon Perkins said. “We were worried about them because that puts you in a really successful position in a basketball game when you have tall and athletic guys.

“We put an emphasis on boxing out and taking care of the ball. I thought we did a nice job early but we couldn’t get the lid off the thing on the other end.

“As the game wore on, we got more fatigued and it started to show as we weren’t boxing out.”

The two teams locked horns in the second but Turner stepped up and made perhaps the biggest play of the game before halftime.

Magnolia had the ball with .7 seconds remaining on the clock when Turner jumped and caught the inbound pass inside the paint and dropped it into the basket with a soft touch while still in mid-air as the horn sounded. He was also fouled on the play and drained the free throw to send his squad into halftime with a 27-18 lead and a spark.

“That was a big play,” Tallman said. “We had a lot of big plays. I thought Gavin Postlethwait had a big play when he saved the ball from going out of bounds when we got a layup.

“Our bigs are getting better. Postlethwait and Trenton Scheibelhood do a lot out there that people don’t see. This team is a pleasure to coach and we’ll keep trying to get better every day.”

That was as close as the Seminoles got as Magnolia reeled off a 7-0 run in the third and a 6-0 spurt in the fourth with Turner garnering 16 second half points.

“Monroe Central has a real nice team,” Tallman said. “They’re game is to come out and pressure you full court and I thought we handled the pressure really well. When we got our four guard set, it’s hard to guard when we use the floor as space.

“I’m really happy for our seniors. That’s what we talk about in the second half of the season. We talk about the urgency of being a senior. It’s their last time around and we have three really good ones (Turner, Gamble, Scheibelhood) and we’re going to do the best we can to take us as far as we can.”

Gamble neared double-double numbers with 13 points and eight boards, while Trevor Williamson bucketed four 3-pointers to finish with 12 points.

Talin Babcock paced Monroe Central with 15 points and Auston Hogue delivered 10.

“That’s not our best performance (Tuesday) by any means,” Perkins said. “We have a couple of guys dealing with sickness but there are no excuses.

“We came off a three-game winning streak but you have to move forward and that’s what we have to do now — move forward. I told the guys to ‘keep swinging your axe.'”