Passing through the regional portion of the state Class B tournament Saturday at Colgate University’s Cotterell Court, perhaps the Westhill boys basketball team remembered how close it came to seeing its perfect 2013-14 season end in this same round in a tense overtime win over Walton, and wanted no part of any kind of tension this time around.
If that was the wish, then it was granted, as Westhill, led again by the dynamic senior duo of Jordan Roland and Tyler Reynolds, pounded past Section IV champion Chenango Valley 67-39, earning yet another trip to Glens Falls Civic Center and a chance to earn the program’s third state championship in six years.
Led by hot-shooting junior guard Mark Mullins, Chenango Valley did not back down from the challenge Westhill gave them, but this group of Warriors still found itself overwhelmed by the way the more established group of Warriors played on both ends of the floor.
It was 13-3 by the time the game was four minutes old, and Westhill would never trail. Offensively, it turned once again into a two-man show, Reynolds and Jordan Roland responsible for every point in the first quarter after Ryan Roland’s 3-pointer in the opening seconds.
In fact, until Mike Burton’s jumper with 3:33 left in the half, the duo had recorded 26 straight points between them, and their teammates, especially the likes of Dan O’Connell, Jeff Lobello, Brian Daily and Mike Burton, were setting a high standard on the defensive end.
Though not immediately effective, Westhill’s blinding man-to-man pressure wore Chenango Valley out by the second quarter, leading to plenty of turnovers and chances for baskets. Without any prolonged run, Westhill took a 34-16 lead to halftime.
Any faint hopes Chenango Valley possessed went away when Westhill went on an 11-0 run in the third quarter that stretched out its lead to 46-21. Among those points were consecutive 3-pointers from Lobello, Reynolds and Roland, in that order.
It took until the fourth quarter for Chenango Valley’s point total to surpass that of Jordan Roland, who finished with 26 points. Reynolds settled on 18 points, adding five rebounds, while Ryan Roland earned six assists and Lobello four assists. Mullins, with 21 points, accounted for more than half of Chenango Valley’s offense.
In the state semifinal Friday night at 6:45, Westhill will meet Rochester Leadership Academy (Section V), who beat Buffalo East in its regional final. The winner of that game advances to Saturday night’s state final at 9 p.m. against Woodlands (Section I) or Ogdensburg Free Academy (Section X).
