Box score
Westlake coach Nate Carling suspects that Region 3 is going to be extremely tight this season, with every team realistically in the mix.
The region title and resulting quality RPI seeding for the playoffs will ultimately come down to consistent fourth-quarter execution in tight games. There just aren’t going to be very many blowouts for anybody.
That’s why Westlake’s 59-52 victory over Skyridge in Friday’s region opener was so gratifying for Carling.
Even though the Thunder led the entire second half, visiting Skyridge cut the lead really close twice, but each time Westlake’s veteran squad responded to extend it back to three possessions.
“I just liked our composure. We’ve got a lot of guys that are on their second year of varsity basketball, and you kind of saw that. They didn’t panic, they didn’t lose their composure,” said Carling.
“Skyridge is a tough team to put away, they’re so well coached and they’re going to take advantage of every situation. Just the mindset of moving onto the next play, I was proud of them.”
Both teams were 9-4 heading in Friday’s game, but Graydin Anderson’s team-high 16 points, and 10 more from Symon Sua helped the Thunder get the early leg up in region.
Skyridge’s Jordan Kohler led all scorers in the loss with 21 points.
Westlake has relied heavily on its four returning starters this season, but on Friday it was unsung hero Lincoln Norwood who came off the bench in limited minutes and made a huge impact late in the third quarter.
Leading 28-21 at the break, Westlake pushed the lead to 34-25 midway through the third quarter. Over the next three minutes though, Skyridge was great at both ends of the floor and ripped off an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 34-33 with 2:31 remaining in the frame.
Thanks to some big plays by Norwood though, Westlake closed the quarter with an 8-0 spurt to open up a 43-34 lead. Norwood hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, and also had a key assist on a Beckham Featherstone layup on the possession prior.
“Lincoln has had very limited varsity time this year, but he’s been playing great in JV. In our game last Saturday he scored 14 points and was our leading scorer,” said Carling.
“Tonight we didn’t put him in until the second half, and for our eighth, ninth guy to come in and be a spark, that’s huge for our team, or any team to get production out of your depth. He gave us a little breathing room going into the fourth quarter.”
Despite the lead, Carling was quick to remind his team during the quarter break that the game was far from over. Sure enough, Skyridge methodically chipped away at the lead in the fourth quarter, getting as close as 54-50 with 55 seconds remaining following three straight free throws from Joel Gardner.
Skyridge’s defense nearly recorded a steal on Westlake’s ensuing possession but was forced to foul Anderson with 42 seconds remaining.
He only made one of two free throws — which is exactly what Skyridge’s comeback attempt needed — but Malik Sika grabbed the offensive rebound on the second miss.
Sika was quickly fouled, and after sinking both free throws Westlake was back in front comfortably by three possessions.
“They like to run a lot of sets and they’re really, really good at it, getting their guys catches where they need it,” said Carling. “We just felt like our physicality and our athleticism that we could disrupt some things, and I thought we really did a good job of that.
“I think our ability to defend and have that focus throughout the game was really critical.”
That type of effort in the fourth quarter will be required every night if Westlake hopes to be in the hunt for the Region 3 title late next month.
“It’s a wide open year, all good teams,” Carling said. “It’s going to come down to who can make plays at the end of close games.”