Pirates Stay Perfect: Miller’s Season-High 22 Leads Wheelersburg Over Waverly in SOC 3 Opener

WHEELERSBURG, OH — Coming off an emotional, hard-fought victory over long-time rival Ironton earlier this week, the Wheelersburg Pirates showed no signs of a letdown Friday night.

Wheelersburg's Landon McGraw (#24) boxes out Waverly's Sawyer Myers (#22) in Friday's SOC opener.

Behind a season-high performance from junior Xavier Miller and a balanced perimeter attack, the Pirates moved to 4-0 on the season with a 60-49 victory over the Waverly Tigers.

The contest served as the Southern Ohio Conference (SOC) 3 opener for both programs, and Wheelersburg wasted no time asserting their dominance from beyond the arc.

The Pirates came out firing in the first quarter. Senior Braylon Rucker, junior Xavier Miller, and senior Landon McGraw each buried early triples to jumpstart the offense, carving out an 11-5 lead midway through the frame.

Waverly stayed within striking distance thanks almost entirely to the heroics of Kage Alexander. Out of a timeout, Alexander scored twice more to account for nine of the Tigers’ 11 first-quarter points. 

However, a late three-pointer from Wheelersburg’s Hunter Bivens ensured the Pirates held a 16-11 advantage heading into the second.

The second quarter settled into a back-and-forth rhythm, with both teams trading baskets for much of the period as Waverly’s Sawyer Myers got involved. Wheelersburg maintained a narrow lead until Miller took over in the final moments of the half. 

Miller drove through traffic for a tough and-1 layup, completing the three-point play to push his personal total to 12 points and giving the Pirates a comfortable 33-24 cushion at the halftime break.

Waverly's Gunnar Myers contests Wheelersburg's Xavier Miller's lay-up attempt in Friday's SOC opener.

The third quarter tested the Pirates' resolve. Waverly’s defense tightened, suffocating Wheelersburg and holding them scoreless for the first five minutes of the second half. Alexander continued to chip away at the deficit, dragging the Tigers back to within five points.

The drought finally ended when Miller leaked out in transition for a crucial bucket that allowed the Pirates to settle down and breathe a sigh of relief.

As the clock wound down in the third, Braylon Rucker brought the home crowd to its feet with a powerful and-1 of his own, extending the lead to 40-30 entering the final frame.

Any hopes of a Waverly comeback were quickly extinguished at the start of the fourth. Rucker and Bivens found their range again, hitting back-to-back triples that ballooned the lead to a game-high 16 points at 48-32.

Waverly refused to go quietly, but Xavier Miller’s relentless attack on the rim proved to be the difference. Miller dropped in three consecutive layups in the closing minutes to seal the victory and keep the Pirates’ undefeated record intact.

The Pirates (4-0) were led by Xavier Miller (22 pts) and Braylon Rucker (19 pts) and will look to carry this momentum into Lucasville next Tuesday for a highly anticipated SOC clash with the Valley Indians.

The Tigers who were led by Kage Alexander (21 pts) will face a quick turnaround as they travel to Alexander tomorrow for a neutral-site matchup against Meigs.