BLYTHEWOOD – The Westwood boys basketball team had run up and down the floor in pursuit of Richland Northeast’s lead through three quarters Friday night.
The Redhawks never trailed by more than nine, and when head coach John Combs had a good feeling about Jaylen Faber, the junior guard came on the floor and changed the tempo.
Faber drained three 3-pointers and scored 11 points in the final quarter to enable Westwood to rally past the Cavaliers 41-38 at Westwood.
“He hit a couple of shots and gained a lot of confidence, and they left him open,” said Combs, making his return to the court after a lengthy bout with the flu. “We knew he was a very capable 3-point shooter. He had an injury over the holiday break and that set him back a little bit, but it was his night.”
Westwood (14-6, 3-3 Region 3-4A) was down by as many as nine points as Richland Northeast (12-4, 4-2) used five 3-pointers to take a 29-20 lead early in the third quarter.
“The last time we played them (a 56-50 loss at RNE Jan. 10) they were 7 of 14 from the 3-point line,” Combs said. “I recognize they’re a solid 3-point shooting team, but at the same time I was frustrated when they were knocking them down, and we didn’t play a very good first half.”
Richland Northeast blanked Westwood in the last three minutes of the first quarter to go up 17-9 entering the second. The Redhawks rallied in the second quarter to cut the lead to 24-20 by the half, but 10 turnovers and just seven rebounds to Richland Northeast’s 10 did not bode well, but Combs was upbeat, to an extent.
“Anytime you don’t play very well but you’re only down by four at the half, you feel like you got a chance,” Combs said.
As the defensive battle waged on in the second half, the Redhawks got a 3 from K.J. Anderson and baskets from Ty Turner and Marshall Jefferson to close the deficit to 33-27 going into the fourth quarter.
Faber got things started in the final quarter when he passed in to Turner under the net, and Turner put it up for two.
After Amere Cherry’s basket made it 34-29, Turner made good on both foul shots to make it 35-31 Cavaliers.
Faber’s first 3 came with five minutes left and cut the lead to 35-34. Calvin Hall’s basket gave the Cavs a 3-point lead, but Turner sank another 3 to tie the game at 37 at the 4:19 mark.
Richland Northeast called a time out and had possession when play resumed, but turned the ball over to the Redhawks.
From that point, Westwood inbounded the ball from midcourt, eventually got the ball to Turner, passed to Faber. Faber then squared up behind the 3-point line and drained the go-ahead shot with 3:10 left.
That lead was all that was needed.
Hall made the front end of a pair of foul shots to make it 40-38, and Christian Horn’s free throw with 46 seconds left again made it a 3-point game.
Two turnovers later, Ahmon Green took the foul line for a one-and-one with 2.3 seconds left. He missed the first shot and Richland Northeast recovered, but Green intercepted the inbound pass as time expired to seal the win.
“We were down by as much as nine in the second half, and we just continued to tell them, next play, next play, keep fighting,” Combs said. “We got a few stops, made a couple of shots, got it to six, got it to three, tied it up. We just wanted to keep fighting.”
In the girls game Friday, Westwood overcame a shaky first quarter to blow out the Cavaliers 67-29.
The Redhawks (18-3, 5-0) outscored Richland Northeast 20-13 in the first quarter in a less-than overpowering beginning.
“We knew they were gonna come out with their best punch. Every game we play, we’re gonna get somebody’s best,” Westwood head coach Gregory Bauldrick said. “We couldn’t get into any kind of defensive effectiveness. We weren’t communicating.”
Westwood eventually straightened out their defensive miscues enough to limit the Cavaliers to four points in the second quarter to take a 35-17 lead at the half.
Nyah Leveretter scored 21 points, Malayziah Etheredge added 13, and Ja’mari Frederick had 10 points.
On Tuesday, Westwood blasted through York. The boys won 53-37 and the girls 57-10.
Girls
Friday: RNE 67, Westwood 29
RNE – 13-4-7-5 – 29
Westwood – 20-15-13-19 – 67
RNE: Macon 14, Eaddy 7, Wiggins 4, Ames 4.
Westwood: Nyah Leveretter 21, Malayziah Etheredge 13, Ja’mari Frederick 10, Wade 7, Woods 7, McCant 6, Thompson 3.
Tuesday: Westwood 57, York 10
Westwood – 16-18-15-8 – 57
York – 0-2-3-5- 10
WESTWOOD: Jessica Woods 16, Nyah Leveretter 12, McCant 9, Frederick 5, Thompson 5, Barnes 2, Mines 2, Scott 2.
YORK: Anderson 3, Ziegler 3, Pendergrass 2, Young 2
Boys
Friday: Westwood 41, RNE 38
RNE – 17-7-10-5 – 38
Westwood – 9-11-7-14 – 41
RNE: Calvin Hall 13, Anderson 6, Cherry 6, Brown 6, Pratt 5, Martinez 2.
Westwood: Jaylen Faber 14, Ty Turner 10, Lewis 5, McCray 4, McDaniels 3, Green 2, Jefferson 2, McBride 1.
Tuesday: Westwood 53, York 37
Westwood: Ty Turner 15, Jaylen Faber 11, McDaniels 5, Lewis 1, Richardson 4, Green 2, Savage 2, Peay 6, Jefferson 5, McCray 2.
YORK: Jamal Brooks 15, Proctor 6, Long 6, Brown 2, Barrett 3, Burris 2, Good 3