If the Westhill boys basketball team was going to get tripped up, the odds were that it would not be anyone from the Section III Class B ranks doing the honors.
The Warriors were invited to play many of the top programs from the Northeast in Binghamton as part of the Stop DWI Tournament, which opened Dec. 28 with Westhill taking on Roman Catholic, a power from Philadelphia who had a national top-20 ranking and was the top-ranked team in Pennsylvania.
Indeed, the Cahillites would prevail, 75-61, putting a halt to a Warriors win streak that had built up to 32 consecutive games.
Two things keyed the outcome. First, Roman Catholic, led by Rider University-bound Gemil Holbrook (who finished with 23 points), hit six 3-pointers in the first half, the Cahillites building a 44-26 lead and overcoming the 15 points put up by Jordan Roland before the break.
Meanwhile, Westhill’s other main threat, Tyler Reynolds, went cold, only managing three first-half points against a bigger, stronger Roman Catholic front line who concentrated on containing him.
Reynolds recovered in the second half and finished with 20 points, while Roland worked his total to 24 points, but it proved far from enough, the Warriors never getting within single digits after the Cahillites’ quick start.
Now Westhill met another Pennsylvania opponent, Emmaus (located southwest of Allentown), and almost got beat again – but this time, the Warriors did just enough to hang on and beat the Green Hornets 48-47.
Roland finished with 20 points and four rebounds, while Reynolds earned most of his 19 points from four 3-pointers. Ryan Roland added eight points and was the only other Westhill player to even get a field goal.
The trip to Binghamton ended well for Westhill as it beat Landstown, from Virginia Beach, Virginia, 65-57 last Tuesday afternoon, a game where it trailed, 35-32, at halftime, but then held the Eagles to five points in the third quarter to move out in front for good.
With Landstown bent on stopping Jordan Roland, it forgot about Reynolds, who poured in a season-high 31 points, most of it from six successful 3-pointers. And Jordan Roland still managed a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, plus five blocks and four assists, while Ryan Roland added eight points and four assists.
Jordan-Elbridge, taking a much lower profile, played in the Phoenix Tournament, where it would grab a second-place finish.
In the opening round Dec. 26, the Eagles routed Cato-Meridian 71-50, missing few shots in a 24-8 first-quarter surge and, from there, turning back all of the Blue Devils’ attempts to catch up.
Ryan Cooper had the hottest hand, pouring in 25 points, while Ryan Matousek made his way to 14 points and Zach Wagner added nine points. Cato lost despite 14 points from Korey Kline, 12 points from Ryan Haskins and 10 points from Conner Loveless.
Now, in the Dec. 27 final, J-E met host Phoenix, and it would slump in the game’s middle stages, which led to a 62-47 defeat to the Firebirds.
Already behind, 18-13, the Eagles scored just 17 total points in the next two periods, ample time for Phoenix, led by Walker Connolly (16 points), Shaun Turner (15 points) and Zach Sisera (13 points), to build a winning cushion.
Still, J-E battled to the end, but only Kyle Humberstone, with 11 points, scored in double figures. Wagner and Matousek got close, with nine points apiece, as J-E fell to 4-4 on the season.
