T-L Photo/SETH STASKEY MARTINS FERRY senior Denali Jackson drives to the basket against St. Clairsville’s Gage Wolfe during the first half of Tuesday’s mutual season opener inside the Tolbert Gymnasium. Jackson recorded a triple-double in the 70-58 victory against the Red Devils.

MARTINS FERRY — St. Clairsville found itself down by two in the closing seconds of the first half.

Martins Ferry, however, showed it doesn’t need long to stretch a lead out.

The Purple Riders captured all of the momentum after they put together a five-point possession to end the half and seemingly never looked back en route to an impressive 71-58 victory in a mutual season opener, Tuesday night, against the Red Devils in the toasty Tolbert Gymnasium.

“We talk about momentum plays quarter to quarter, especially taking the last shot in a quarter or half,” Martins Ferry head coach Derek Edwards said. “That was an unbelievable few plays, which were really big for us.”

Sophomore Alex Reese tallied on what appeared as if it would be the final Purple Rider possession of the half, but he then deflected a St. C. pass, saved it to senior teammate Denali Jackson, who promptly hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.

“In the big-boy game at 7:30, you can’t lose concentration for any amount of time,” St. Clairsville head coach Ryan Clifford said. “I thought we did for maybe the last 20 seconds of the half and it went from a 2-point game to seven. We showed signs of youth and maturity at times, but that’s not an excuse. We’re playing in big-boy games and we have to be better.”

With the crowd into it and momentum squarely shifted, the Purple Riders never let the momentum get back on the Red Devils’ side. They stretched the lead to more than 20 in the fourth.

The thing that Edwards, who watched his team place three players in double figures, was the way his new-look group meshed despite a lack of practice time.

“We have pieces, but believe it or not, we’ve only had two practices as a full unit,” Edwards said. “We’ve been battling the injury bug, so we’ve had guys in and out.”

One of those players who has been slowed in the preseason was the aforementioned Reese. Without Edwards disclosing that information, it would have been tough to tell. The sophomore was a continual thorn in the Red Devils’ side. He scored a game-high 26 points, which included two one-handed jams in the fourth quarter that further ignited the large crowd in attendance. He also had eight rebounds.

“For Alex to play like he did with the limited preparation is just a tremendous effort,” Edwards said.

While Reese led the way, it was Jackson — a transfer from Linsly — who made the offense go. Edwards scored 15 points, but he didn’t stop there. He posted a triple-double with 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

“Everything for us starts with (Jackson),” Edwards admitted. “He knows that and he’s taken ownership in that. We didn’t know what to expect in terms of what St. Clairsville was going to do to him, but we expected them double him and they did all game, but he made great decisions and then other guys made great decisions when we got the ball to certain spots.”

The Purple Riders also received a workmanlike effort from senior Landyn Hores. He had 11 points and six rebounds.

St. Clairsville, meanwhile, got solid production from its two most experienced players — junior Cole Thoburn and sophomore Tyson Pastor. Thoburn went for 22 and Pastor added 16 points and five rebounds. Luke Porter, the only other Devil player with significant varsity experience, finished with seven.

“You could tell there were some guys out there for the first time,” Clifford said. “It’s a tough ask to come on the road, in the league against a veteran, talented team. Our strength is our athleticism and they kind of neutralized that a little bit. I thought at times we executed pretty well, but at other times, we didn’t. Whether or not we can grab that consistency with these young guys is going to be a battle we fight all year.”

Martins Ferry returns to the court Friday at Union Local, while the Red Devils make their home debut Saturday against Indian Valley.