BLYTHEWOOD – The Westwood boys showed what a difference an intermission makes Tuesday night at the Westwood gym.
The Redhawks had trouble with the Cougars in the final minutes of the first half. They wasted no time in scoring 34 points in the third quarter en route to an 82-55 Region 5-4A victory.
The game didn’t start out that way. Westwood took an early lead, but York chipped away at it.
Zachary Dunlap (4) hoists the shot from under the basket under York pressure. | Leroy Howard
“We didn’t think we were focused defensively to start the game,” Westwood head coach Jeff DiBattisto said. “We had worked on how to scheme against them, but we were not focused to where we needed to be defensively.”
The Redhawks (10-5, 2-0) went up 12-2 in the opening minutes of the first quarter and 20-12 in the final minute.
The Cougars began creeping back into the game in the second quarter. Tabari Moore’s foul shots and a Gabe Carroll’s 3-pointer at the 3:20 mark of the second got York within three points of the Redhawks.
Up 29-26 by then, Westwood used 6-for-6 foul shooting to take a tenuous 35-31 advantage into the locker room.
There were no changes, at intermission, just some reminders.
“At halftime in the locker room, it wasn’t, ‘we need to make a bunch of changes,’” DiBattisto said. “It was ‘we need to do what we practiced,’ and to their credit, they came out and were fantastic in the third quarter.”
The Redhawks wasted no time rebuilding its lead.
Jaylen Watson and Tajay Dunlap each scored on three-point plays in the first twelve seconds of the third. After a York turnover, Kendall Wormack sank a 3 to give Westwood a 44-31 lead just 41 seconds into the second half.
They didn’t stop.
Two steals led to baskets from Bre’on Lewis to make it 48-31 at the 6:47 mark. While York made good on an occasional basket, Westwood forced seven turnovers, grabbed rebounds, and poured in the points.
With Russell Jones Jr.’s baseline basket at the third quarter buzzer, the Redhawks had a 69-44 lead. Ty Turner’s two foul shots gave Westwood a 30-point lead with 2:12 left in the game.
Turner later dunked on York before the Cougars cut into the 30-point margin with foul shots and a basket for the final score.
Jones and Dunlap had 16 points apiece. Wormack sank three 3-pointers and had 13 points. Lewis finished the night with 11.
York’s Cameron Jones led the way inside with 19 points. Malcolm Kennedy had 16, including three 3-pointers.
“They’re a good basketball team, and they’ve got good players,” DiBattisto said. “Our kids really responded. We fed a little bit more off of our defense in the second half, which is what we wanted to do.”
The Redhawks travel to Lancaster Friday.
Westwood 82, York 55
York – 13 – 18 – 13 – 11 – 55
Westwood – 22 – 13 – 34 – 13 – 82
York – Cameron Jones 19, Malcolm Kennedy 16, Moore 5, Carroll 5, Ellis 3, Price 2, Guinn 2, Long 2.
Westwood – Russell Jones Jr. 16, Tajay Dunlap 16, Kendall Wormack 13, Bre’on Lewis 11, Watson 7, Huff 6, Turner 6, Coleman 3, Green 2.