BUCKHANNON, W.Va. — Parkersburg didn’t have the regular season it aspired to, winning only six times over 22 games.
With a clean slate to start the postseason, the Big Reds hope to come much closer to maximizing their potential.
Friday’s Class AAAA South Region contest at Buckhannon-Upshur had a little bit of everything and a lot of extra basketball, but the Big Reds dug deep and made the necessary plays to prevail in double overtime, 71-69.
“Our mindset tonight was we have nothing to lose,” PHS head coach Phil Wilson said. “Either you leave it all on this court and pas out on this court trying to win or go home. Tonight, they decided they wanted to pass out on that floor. We went to double overtime, played seven players and two of them fouled out. I can’t complain. Everyone that stepped on the floor did a great job.”
The win sends the No. 9 seed Big Reds (7-16) to the next round where a matchup at George Washington awaits Wednesday with a state tournament spot at stake.
The Big Reds gained a 56-55 lead late in regulation on a Chandler Jackson three-pointer, but the eighth-seeded Buccaneers (14-9) went on top moments later courtesy of Brody McDaniels’ layup.
Shortly after, Jerin Westfall scored in transition and was fouled, but missed the free throw, leaving the home team with a three-point advantage.
Jackson missed two free throws on the Big Reds’ ensuing possession, but the battle for the rebound led to a jump ball, with the possession arrow in favor of Parkersburg.
The Big Reds made the most of the extra opportunity in the form of a Quinten Wilson triple in front of his team’s bench with 7 seconds to play. Buckhannon-Upshur’s Xavier Robinette missed on the other end, sending the game to overtime knotted at 59.
“I saw Chandler fall, then I saw the ball and grabbed it,” Quinten Wilson said. “I knew I needed to shoot it, so I put it up and made it.”
End regulation: Parkersburg 59, Buckhannon-Upshur 59
Big Reds’ Wilson hit this 3 with 7 seconds left to tie the game. #wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/Wz4E4u5b2r
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) March 7, 2026
A slow-paced first extra session was scoreless for more than 3 minutes, with the Big Reds opting for longer possessions, while the Buccaneers struggled with turnovers. Jackson got to the basket and scored with 22 seconds left to give PHS a two-point advantage, but McDaniels answered with a jumper that sent the game into a second overtime.
“We put it all out there. We knew it was going to be a battle and it was nothing short of that,” Bucs’ head coach Jason Westfall said.
End OT1: Parkersburg 61, Buckhannon-Upshur 61
McDaniels tied it on this jumper with 7 seconds left. It was ruled a 2-pointer. #wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/Y6BuxuDwez
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) March 7, 2026
Westfall opened the scoring in overtime with a floater, before Wilson countered with a trey. However, Wilson was disqualified for his fifth personal foul with 2:38 to play, one that sent Westfall to the free-throw line, where he sank both attempts.
B-U still led by one before Sutton Stanley scored on a drive to the basket to leave Parkersburg in front, 68-67.
Parkersburg produced a timely stop, then split two trips to the free-throw line following an intentional foul, allowing the visitors to lead by three.
Westfall then scored on a second-chance opportunity and was fouled, though he missed the free throw that resulted in an offensive rebound, allowing the Bucs to maintain possession with a one-point deficit and 16 seconds to play.
Out of a timeout, McDaniels misfired on a jumper, and Jackson made 1-of-2 free throws with 4.6 seconds left to leave the Big Reds with a two-point lead.
Jimmie Green’s three for the win was off the mark as time expired, allowing Parkersburg to prevail after it lost to the Buccaneers by 14 points in a regular season meeting.
“This is regionals and everyone is 0-0,” coach Wilson said. “No team has won anything right now. We’ve learned that with some of the games over the course of this week. Some teams that were expected to win didn’t win. I told the boys you have nothing to lose tonight. Go out there and leave it all on the floor because we don’t want to go home.”
FINAL: Parkersburg 71, Buckhannon-Upshur 69 (2 OT)
Big Reds (7-16) advance to play at GW. Wilson led PHS with 26 points before fouling out. Jackson scored 14.
Bucs (14-9) got 31 points and 15 rebounds from Westfall. He fouled out in final seconds of second OT.#wvprepbb pic.twitter.com/bCtPYIFmuH
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) March 7, 2026
Buckhannon-Upshur got nine first-quarter points from Westfall and made 8-of-13 shots to lead 19-11, but the Bucs had eight second-quarter turnovers, while Big Reds’ guard Jaxon Thomas accounted for 10 of his team’s first 16 points to help them stay within striking distance.
Wilson’s corner three had the Big Reds on top 31-28, before Westfall connected from behind the arc with time winding down in the half to send the teams to the locker room knotted at 31.
At halftime, B-U had 11 turnovers to Parkersburg’s three.
“Last time we played here, we thought we saw something when we pressured them a little bit,” coach Wilson said. “We decided to jump on them early to see what happens and it worked in our favor. They didn’t like the pressure at all, and it didn’t matter which pressure set we went into, it seemed to give them problems.”
B-U led 44-39 in the third, before Wilson made another trey. Wilson also beat the third-quarter buzzer with a basket to pull his team even at 46.
Wilson led PHS with 26 points and made half of his 20 field-goal attempts. Jackson scored 14 and Thomas totaled 10 in the win.
“The whole season, we could’ve done more if we had the team chemistry,” Quinten Wilson said. “Today, we put it all together. Everybody to score and everybody got to contribute. That was the best part.”
The Big Reds overcame making 7-of-18 free throws, while the Bucs largely failed to capitalize from the charity stripe as well, finishing 13 for 23.
Westfall had another standout showing in a season full of them. He led all players with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.
McDaniels and Robinette scored 14 apiece in defeat.
B-U had a 42-20 rebounding advantage, but 24 of the game’s 31 turnovers.
“There were some mental errors, but a tip here and getting sped up made a huge impact,” coach Westfall said. “We had turnovers and it got us out of sorts. That was a good move by their coach. We had just dealt with Morgantown’s pressure, so I felt like we could handle it. I just didn’t feel like we made good decisions. The bench gets short and minutes start to weight on you a bit, and sometimes you make poor decisions in those moments. They beat us fair and square and it’s too bad somebody had to lose, but it was a battle. I don’t begrudge our effort, but we could’ve made some better plays.“