SYRACUSE – New coach, new players in key roles, new class to conquer – but the same standard of excellence and another Section III championship for the Westhill boys basketball team.
This time it’s Class A that the Warriors have run through, completing this latest climb to the top Friday night at SRC Arena when it defeated Central Valley Academy 59-52 in the sectional Class A title game.
It was that unique combination of proven experience and youthful energy that powered top-seeded Westhill to the banner, overcoming a slow start with a strong mid-game surge and then maintaining its poise late when the no. 3 seed Thunder threatened to catch up.
“We got down early, but I’m proud of the character we showed,” said head coach Jon Connelly. “It was a battle the whole game.”
The early deficit Connelly talked about was an 18-10 lead CVA took in the first quarter, all of the points coming from center Deacon Judd (10) and forward Thomas Jacquays (eight) as the Warriors initially found it tough to contain either of them.
But then Westhill switched to a 3-2 zone at the start of the second period, something it commonly did all season when facing top front-line players, and Judd was held scoreless in that quarter and had just nine points the rest of the way.
Meanwhile, Kam Langdon, scoreless in the opening frame, took off with 11 second-quarter points, keying a 12-3 run that erased the Thunder’s lead and, with four of those points, helping Westhill take a 32-29 lead to the break.
“We were challenged, so I needed to step up and they needed me to score,” said Langdon.
Even better than Langdon was what sophomore forward Eli Welch offered throughout the game. Holding his own against Judd and CVA’s front line, he set a career mark with 20 points, adding six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Welch said he leaned heavily on what he has learned playing quarterback in football, leaning on his strength and taking care of the ball that Connelly said was always evident in practice, but finally showed up in a big game.
Westhill had a 47-38 lead in the third quarter and was up with 55-47 with less than four minutes left, but couldn’t get away, CVA cutting the margin to three, 55-52. But the Warriors’ defense stepped up again and blanked the Thunder over the game’s final 2 1/2 minutes.
Eli Prince’s four free throws in the final minute clinched it as, with 16 points, he nearly equaled Langdon’s total of 17 points, Langdon adding seven rebounds and three assists. Charlie DeMore had six points, four steals, four assists and three rebounds.
On Wednesday night at Liverpool High School, Westhill meets Section X champion Massena in the first round of the regional tournament, needing to win here and in a regional final next Saturday in order to return to Glens Falls for the March 15-16 state final four.
