Even before it took the court for the 2016-17 season, the Westhill boys basketball team may have seen its biggest obstacle in climbing back to the top of the Section III Class B ranks cleared for them.
Bishop Grimes, who won the sectional Class B title a season ago and eventually reached the state final four, was promoted to Class A. Without them to worry about, the Warriors have every reason to think it can dominate in the way that it did when it won back-to-back state Class B championships in 2014 and ’15.
To test itself, Westhill would face Class AA Fayetteville-Manlius Saturday in the Peppino’s Invitational at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall, And despite a stunning second-half effort by the Hornets’ Ryan Salzberg, the Warriors held on for a 72-67 victory.
They traded baskets, and the lead, until a 12-2 burst late in the second quarter helped Westhill go in front 37-28 at the break. That margin grew to 46-32 at one point in the third quarter, but Salzberg, by himself, led F-M’s comeback, hitting six 3-pointers and piling up 30 points in the second half to finish with 39 points overall.
One more Salzberg 3-pointer cut the Warriors’ lead to 69-66 with 18.2 seconds left, but free throws by Owen Matukas seconds later helped Westhill clinch it.
Overall, Matkuas had 21 points, while Kamren Jackson got a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds, plus five assists. Braeden Elmer added 12 points and four assists as Sean Dadey (nine points), John Geer (eight points) and Antonio Scrimale (six points) gave the Warriors further scoring balance.
Before that, Westhill opened its season last Tuesday against Phoenix and flattened the Firebirds 82-36, all but settling matters during a 22-4 first-quarter blitz. By halftime, the margin had grown to 36-12, and the Warriors didn’t let up even after the starters were on the bench.
Ten different players earned at least one field goal, with Elmer connecting on six 3-pointers to account for most of his 20 points. Elmer added six assists as Jackson got 15 points and five rebounds, with Geer adding 10 points.
Scrimale dished out nine assists to go with his eight points and four rebounds. Zachariah Brown had seven points and seven rebounds, with Matukas also getting seven points and Holden Carroll contributing six points and five rebounds.
Right before facing F-M, Westhill took on Hannibal Friday night and claimed the Warrior clash 56-33, overcoming a slow start with a 23-6 second-quarter run. Jackson had much to do with it, earning 25 points as Geer and Matukas each had eight points and six rebounds, with Dadey adding six points.
The win over F-M followed, leaving the Warriors at 3-0 going into Monday’s game against visiting Fulton. Westhill hosts Skaneateles on Thursday night.
