Sentiment and emotion were with the Jordan-Elbridge boys basketball team last Tuesday night when it dedicated its home court in honor of long-time coach Bill “King” Solomon less than a year after his passing.
But Westhill cared little for that sentiment as the Warriors, who moved up to no. 3 in the latest state Class B rankings, survived a wild first half and took charge in the third quarter to record an 89-63 victory over the Warriors.
Right from the opening tip, both teams were running, and J-E held up well, only trailing 19-15 after one quarter and, despite an increase in the scoring tempo, keeping itself within single digits as Westhill led, 43-34, at halftime.
Not interested in making things too stressful, Westhill outscored the Eagles 27-12 in the third quarter to get away. Antonio Scrimale, with 15 points, led a well-balanced attack as Sean Dadey got 14 points, five assists and four rebounds, Kameren Jackson added 13 points and eight assists, and Owen Matukas got 12 points. John Geer had eight points as Zechariah Brown and Braeden Elmer had six points apiece.
J-E, for its part, also spread around its attack. Dale Wagner led with 14 points, but Brandon Wick (11 points) and Mason Barrigar (10 points) also hit double figures. Austin Cassick and Collin Barrigar got eight points apiece, and Jonah Patrick earned six points.
Westhill played again 24 hours later and handled Pulaski 72-47, the game actually close until the Warriors went on a 19-7 run through the second quarter and maintained that momentum deep into the second half, the lead growing to 55-33 by the start of the final period.
Brown dazzled off the bench with a career-best 15 points, matching Dadey, who tacked on nine assists and five rebounds. Jackson was close behind, earning 13 points and six rebounds as Elmer got seven points and four assists. Matukas had six points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals.
On Saturday afternoon, the Warriors would, for the third season in a row, face Community Health Academy of the Heights, a New York City-based team coached by Westhill graduate Michael King, the son of Warriors head coach Kevin King, in the annual Christopher Collins Classic, with proceeds benefiting a scholarship fund named in honor of, Collins, a Westhill student-athlete who passed away in 2013.
Unlike years past, CHAh arrived at this father-son duel with a strong team that held the no. 18 spot in the state Class B rankings, and it got off to a terrific start in this game, too, but could not sustain it as the Warriors took over by halftime and went on to prevail 79-64.
Hot shooting by CHAH created a 25-14 advantage by the end of the first quarter. Led by Matukas, though, Westhill got on its own tear and kept on going until it had gone on a combined 52-18 run that spanned the second and third quarters.
Matukas finished the day with 19 points, while Dadey and Jackson each had 17 points as Dadey got seven rebounds, six assist and three blocks and Jackson added six rebounds. Brown chimed in with eight points and six rebounds. CHAH put Steven Carbajal (17 points), Jacob Ramirez, Alex Cortez (15 points apiece) and Eddie Pimintel (10 points) into double figures.
