Photo by Kim North Bellaire’s Riley Robbins shoots for three points during action Tuesday night from the Big Reds’ 63-43 victory over John Marshall inside the John Marshall Field House in Moundsville. Robbins had nine points, all coming in the second quarter.

MOUNDSVILLE — Bellaire’s combination of Raekwon Pettigrew (21) and Caleb Jewell (19) teamed for 40 points as the Big Reds posted a repeat victory over host John Marshall, 63-43, Tuesday night in boys’ high school basketball action inside the John Marshall Field House.

However, it was the play of Riley Robbins and Trey Dunn that veteran Big Reds head coach J.R. Battista raved about. The duo combined for 15 points as Robbins knocked down all nine of his in the second quarter, while Dunn added six and a like number of rebounds.

“Those two played really well off the bench for us tonight,” Battista said. “We had to mix the lineup up a little for reasons only known to me, but the kids responded and played well.”

Bellaire (7-8) is chasing Buckeye Trail for the fourth — and final — playoff spot in the OVAC Class 3A. The Big Reds defeated the Monarchs, 85-78, earlier this season in Belmont County.

Pettigrew netted 10 of his game-best 21 in the first quarter as the Big Reds rallied from a 5-0 deficit with a 9-0 run and never looked back. They led 12-8 after one quarter and behind Robbins’ effort, held a 26-19 advantage at the half.

“I thought we played really well on defense, we were just missing too many open shots at the other end of the floor,” Battista said. “In the second half we still played good defense, but we made more shots. You have to put the ball through the hoop to be successful. When you do, everything is great.”

John Marshall made a move early in the third quarter, pulling to within five, 37-32, as Hayden Gaiser had six of his 10 in the quarter. However, Bellaire put up 26 points in the fourth quarter, including a 10-2 game-ending run to pull away. Jewell had 12 of his points in the quarter, with most of his six field goals coming on layups. Pettigrew added eight.

“Caleb has put a lot of time in the gym shooting the ball. He shot well tonight,” Battista said. “Maurice (Webb) and Kole (Swierkos) play good defense and rebound the ball. Raekwon does a little bit of everything.

“It was a good win for us, especially on the road,” Battista added. “Every win is big for the Big Reds.”

Keegan Davis pulled down four rebounds, all on the offensive boards, as the Big Reds led 27-26. Jewell had six and Pettigrew five. Webb added four.

“He’s been playing better and better. Keegan got hurt in football. He dislocated his elbow, so he’s still trying to get into basketball shape,” Battista noted. “He’s been playing very physical for us.”

It’s the same song and dance for the Monarchs and first-year John Marshall head coach Mike Thomas.

“Turnovers have been a big thing for us this season. We had to press up because we were down and they got a lot of easy layups,” Thomas said. “It put us in a hole and we panicked on offense. We didn’t run our stuff and we got too fast. When we play fast is when we turn the ball over. When we’re settled in and can run our stuff, we’re pretty good, but we panicked and they took advantage of our mistakes.”

The Monarchs committed four of their 12 turnovers in the final eight minutes. Bellaire had 10 turnovers.

Bryar Haught led JM with 12 points, two more than Gaiser. Jackson Helms also finished with 10. Haught grabbed game honors with nine rebounds and Kayden Knapp added seven.