ST. CLAIRSVILLE – Come tournament time, a win is a win and Big Red got one Wednesday night.

Steubenville took the lead for good with an opening period scoring run, survived a second frame meltdown and earned a 65-46 victory over Minerva in Division II sectional play at Ohio University’s Eastern Campus.

“About all we did tonight was survive,” Mike Haney said of his now 16-8 Big Red. “We started out pretty strong but we played poorly in the second quarter, only scoring eight points.

“Give Minerva credit. They really got after it and had more intensity than us in the second quarter when they cut our lead to just four.”

After Lucas Herrington drained a triple for Big Red, the tournament’s fifth seed, Minerva’s Derek McNutt knocked down a jumper putting the 17th-seeded Lions down two (10-8).

Dimitri Collaros started Big Red’s burst when he connected from behind the arc. Dionee Wallace-Jones went coast-to-coast after a rebound for a pair then Collaros scored again off a nifty Charles Reeves assist. Shakur Thomas-Miller swished a trey and Big Red led 20-8 after one.

Travis Wolfe made it 22-8 to start the second but things went south for Haney’s crew after that. The Lions, who finished at 5-18, outscored Big Red 16-6 and trailed by four (28-24) at the break. During the first 16 minutes, Big Red was plagued by fouls and turnovers, finishing with nine.

Big Red found its game in the third, outscoring Minerva 21-11. Herrington opened the period by draining three free throws then Collaros drove hard to the bucket for a pair. A Travis Wolfe triple, coming off a Herrington assist, put the score at 40-30. Alec Davis’ three-ball increased the advantage to 13 (47-34) later in the frame.

A 7-0 run to start the fourth put the victory on ice for Big Red. Thomas-Miller scored five of the seven and Reeves added the other two.

“At halftime, we talked about the fact we were playing with no intensity,” Haney noted. “Minerva was getting all the loose balls and our guys knew they had to get after it. We had a nice run in the third quarter and I thought we played a little better.”

Big Red’s final points came when Mandela Lawrence-Burke drove to the hole with authority for a layup with less than 20 ticks remaining. It was his first appearance in an athletic event since breaking his leg during week four of the football season.

“He was cleared by his doctor today,” Haney said of his junior guard. “I asked him if he wanted to dress and play and he was all smiles. It’s been a long process for him and I’m glad we were able to get him in. His playing might have been the best thing about tonight.

“It was nice to see him out there moving around. That’s a good thing. He missed a three but then was able to make that layup.”

Big Red placed four players in double figures and a fifth just missed. Reeves led the way with 16 to go along with 20 rebounds and four steals. Herrington had 11 while Collaros and Thomas-Miller evenly divided 20. Davis contributed nine. Wallace-Jones had a team-high four assists.

Haney was pleased with the points provided by Thomas-Miller and Davis off the Big Red bench.

“You always want some scoring off your bench and 19 is a lot for two guys to contribute,” he stated. “It definitely helped that they were able to do that for us.”

Joey Gill paced Minerva with 13 and Billy Eyer added 12. Freshman point guard Connor Wright scored 10.

Big Red can grab a second straight sectional championship when it meets third-seeded Meadowbrook Saturday inside OUE’s Health and Physical Education Center. The tip is set for 1 p.m.

The now 20-3 Colts dispatched Maysville by an identical 65-46 score in Wednesday’s opener.

“We watched them tonight and we scrimmaged them earlier,” Haney pointed out. “Twenty wins is an outstanding accomplishment and they play some tough competition. They are the third-seed so we’ll be the underdogs. We’ll have to be ready.”

Big Red 65, Minerva 46

Big Red 20 8 21 16 – 65

Minerva 8 16 11 11 – 46

BIG RED (16-8): Petteway 0 0-2 0; Wallace-Jones 1 0-0 2; Walkosky 0 0-0 0; Wolfe 2 0-1 5; Collaros 4 1-2 10; Herrington 3 3-3 10; Reeves 7 2-2 16; Marx 0 0-0 0; Clevenger 0 0-0 0; Davis 3 2-2 8; Williams 0 0-0 0; Granitir-Lee 0 0-0 0; Thomas-Miller 4 0-0 10; Lawrence-Burke 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 25 8-12 65. 3-pointers: Herrington 2, Thomas-Miller 2, Wolfe, Collaros, Davis. Rebounds 39 (Reeves 20); Turnovers 18. MINERVA (5-18): Catlett 1 0-0 2; McNutt 2 0-0 4; Eyer 5 2-4 12; Knight 0 2-3 2; Coe 0 0-0 0; Gill 6 0-0 13; Wright 3 2-5 10; Gross 0 0-0 0; Preston 0 0-0 0; Brown 0 2-2 2; Hudy 0 1-2 1. TOTALS: 17 9-16 46. 3-pointers: Wright 2, Gill. Rebounds: 25 (Eyer 9). Turnovers: 19.