BELLAIRE’S TRENTON Wilson (12) blocks the shot of Monroe Central’s Paul Yonak (12) during Saturday night’s game. The Seminoles won their third game of the week with a 65-46 victory.

BELLAIRE — Monroe Central’s Jon Perkins was worried about his team’s schedule last week. It featured a road game at Barnesville on Tuesday and back-to-back contests at home Friday with Frontier and at Bellaire a night later.

The fourth-year head coach was all smiles Saturday night after his Seminoles completed a clean sweep with a 65-46 victory over the Big Reds inside the “House of Champions” on Guernsey Street.

“We were concerned coming into the week because we knew we were facing some good competition,” Perkins said. “Bellaire is a lot better than people give them credit for. They play a tough schedule. I think they are on the verge of turning the corner.

“I knew coming in here tonight that it was going to take a good effort from my team, and I received it,” Perkins added. “It may have not been the prettiest. We turned the ball over seven times at Barnesville and eight times last night (Friday). We were setting that as our goal, but I think our legs may have got a little tired and even maybe some mental fatigue set in.

“I was happy our guys were able to come through and show some grit and we made some shots when we had too.”

Trailing 4-0, Monroe Central (10-6) reeled off 14 of the next 18 points for a 14-8 lead after one quarter. The margin grew to 27-15 at the half as Luke Burkhart led a balanced attack with nine points.

“We let some of their guys that can make shots make shots. We let them get open and make shots,” Bellaire head coach J.R. Battista said. “That’s a recipe for disaster real quick. They jumped on us early and we never really recovered.

Garet Cramer, who had a career night Tuesday against the Shamrocks with 29 points and 12 against the Cougars, netted seven of his 16 markers in the third panel as Monroe Central pulled away for a 48-28 lead with eight minutes remaining.

“In the second half we felt the pace of the game was more to our liking. The tempo in the first half favored Bellaire more because it allowed them to stay in the game,” Perkins continued. “We told the kids at halftime that we needed to create some separation between us and them. We executed some pressure defenses and it allowed us to do that.

“We’ve crept back into the OVAC (playoffs) conversation, but we’ve got another tough week ahead with road games at Magnolia Tuesday and Linsly on Friday,” Perkins noted. “This week will kind of tell the tale as to where we are at. We’re excited for the challenge of playing some quality opponents again next week.”

Burkhart, who knocked down four treys, led the Seminoles with 17. Talin Babcock added 11 and Auston Hogue had nine. Cramer and Dillon Lincoln each garnered seven rebounds as the visitors led 37-35 off the glass. They also had 17 turnovers.

“We had some open shots. We just didn’t make them,” Battista pointed out. “They are shots that you have to make over someone and when you get bumped. That’s part of the game. That’s how it goes.”

Bellaire senior Trenton Wilson led all scorers in the contest with 19 points. He also pulled down a game-best nine rebounds. A.J. McCarthy had 10 points for the Big Reds (3-14). David Zwack finished with nine. Bellaire had 11 turnovers.

Bellaire hosts Shadyside on Tuesday.