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Signature win for O'Keeffe, Wheeling

The excitement is back at Wheeling.

After season after season of struggles on the hardwood, Wheeling's boys basketball team appears poised to make a move this winter. And the Wildcats showed they were ready by stunning Niles West 48-43 in Wheeling.

"That is a huge win for our program," said Wheeling coach Mike O'Keeffe, who is in his first year as head coach and has his team above .500 at 3-2. "I am happy for our kids. Niles West is a great program and I saw somewhere that they were ranked in the preseason in the area. We are playing well together."

One of the reasons is the return of 6-foot-9 Patrick Szpir, who left the team last year. The senior, who committed this summer to Chicago State, improved his game in the off-season to get back to play at Wheeling this year.

"This is a big moment for Wheeling basketball and I happy to be a part of it," said Szpir, whose dominant play down the stretch was one of the differences in the game.

"It was tough season last year, and we went into the off-season and worked hard in the gym. It is a new coaching staff and a new year."

Niles West (2-3) had little answer for Szpir, who finished with 17 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and a blocked shot.

"Patrick was awesome," O'Keeffe said. "He was a beast. He had two dominant games over Thanksgiving. When we play inside-out and get him the ball, we are really good."

The Wildcats didn't look good at times during the first half. Wheeling had trouble with Niles West's pressure and turned the ball over 15 times by the end of the half. Despite that, Wheeling trailed just 23-20 at the break.

After a Wheeling basket, the Wolves ran off 8 unanswered points and appeared to be in control with a 31-22 lead with 4:22 left in the third quarter.

But this is not the Wheeling of past seasons.

The Wildcats began to chip away at the lead thanks to a 3-pointer by Charlie Zettek and 3 baskets by Nick Janulis, including one that tied the game at 35 with 7:24 to play.

Niles West's Evan Hines, who has been getting some D-I interest, finally shook free from Janulis, who had been guarding him throughout the game. Hines drained a NBA- length 3-pointer to put the Wolves up 38-35 with 6:22 left.

"It was exhausting guarding him," said Janulis, who held Hines to 11 points. "It was a great opportunity for me. I enjoyed every minute of it."

But it was all Wheeling from there with the Wildcats running off 9 straight points. Szpir had 2 baskets and a free throw while Zettek and TJ Best each had a bucket as the Wildcats led 44-38 with 1:54 to play.

Niles West closed to 44-41 with 44 seconds left, but Best drilled a pair of free throws with 5.9 seconds left to start the celebration that ended in a classroom with the players and coaches continuing their party.

Wheeling, which turned the ball over 28 times, got 12 points from Janulis, 7 points from Zettek and 5 points from Best.

"We were careless with the ball a little bit," O'Keeffe said. "But I think our kids were composed in the second half. We took care of the ball better and made some timely shots."

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