A single defeat to Roman Catholic (Pennsylvania) in the Stop DWI Tournament on Dec. 28 did not keep the Westhill boys basketball team from falling out of the top spot in the state Class B rankings.
Accordingly, when the Warriors returned to OHSL Liberty division play, it maintained its top form, especially in last Friday night’s game against Skaneateles, where a mid-game getaway, and a season-best total from Jordan Roland, led to an 84-51 victory over the Lakers.
This, on the surface, looked like a test for Westhill, since Skaneateles was 6-2, its lone blemishes a pair of defeats to Syracuse Academy of Science and its success predicated on a strong inside-outside attack anchored by Jake Peterson and Pete Knupp.
And for much of the first quarter, it was tight, but a Warriors surge at the end of the period carried over into the second quarter, where Westhill outscored Skaneateles 22-7 and extended its lead to 44-20.
To prevent a comeback, the Warriors’ defense honed in on Knupp, never letting him get outside shots as he managed just four points. Peterson did a bit better, getting nine points, and Jake Reed led the Lakers with 16 points, but it was far from enough.
Meanwhile, Roland was accumulating 31 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Tyler Reynolds contributed 17 points, while Jeff Lobello dished out 10 assists and added six rebounds. Brian Daily had eight points and seven rebounds as Steven Bailey and Dan O’Connell got six points apiece.
Just before that, the Warriors had an uneven effort in last Tuesday night’s 53-28 win over Phoenix. With the Firebirds bent on slowing down the game’s tempo, Westhill stayed patient and relied on its man-to-man pressure to hold Phoenix to nine first-half points.
For the most part, Jordan Roland (six points) and Ryan Roland (five points) were kept quiet, and Reynolds (nine points) didn’t reach double figures, either. But Lobello and Daily produced 11 points apiece, and Bailey added six points.
Now the attention turned to Bishop Ludden, who await this Sunday night’s “Holy War” renewal with CBA at SRC Arena, complete with Parochial League throwback jerseys that have the Gaelic Knights as St. Patrick’s (green and gold, with the shamrock) and the Brothers as Sacred Heart (maroon and white, with the six hearts).
First, though, came a pair of OHSL Freedom division games, including last Tuesday night’s visit from fast-starting Fulton, who brought a 6-1 record to Geddes. But the Gaelic Knights would cool off the Red Raiders, prevailing by a score of 74-51.
Coming off a Jan. 3 defeat to Class AA no. 11 ranked Bishop Kearney, Ludden was eager to find its top form again, and quickly did so.
A 20-11 first quarter push put the Gaelic Knights in control, and though Fulton stayed within range the rest of the half, Ludden got away during the third period, where it outscored the Red Raiders 21-11 and cruised from there.
Using an effective inside-outside combination, Ludden saw Zach Walser and Mika Adams-Woods each finish with 20 points, while Will Engelhardt came off the bench to score 12 points, making up for the struggles of Jack Rauch, who had just eight points. Fulton lost despite a strong night from Cody Green, who led his side with 19 points.
Ludden visited East Syracuse Minoa on Friday night, where Pat Donnelly began his 501-win varsity coaching career in the early 1980s before returning to his alma mater.
This one was nervous for a long while, too, but Ludden got away and won it, 67-52, the issue in doubt all the way until the fourth quarter, when the Gaelic Knights wore the Spartans down and outscored them 17-7.
Rauch, despite battling the flu, still got nine points, which put more on Walser. And the senior responded, draining 27 points as Adams-Woods continued to impress with 17 points. Jah-Meer McDuffie paced ESM with 19 points.
