BLYTHEWOOD – Opening the 5A Division 2 boys basketball playoffs was the best thing that could happen to Westwood after struggling with the Region 5-5A schedule
The Redhawks lost six out of their last seven region games, including a painful 63-59 defeat to Sumter on Senior Night Thursday.
“We noticed. Region play is tough, but we tried to play it too safe,” Robinson said about the team’s 4-8 finish in the region standings. “We’re a pressure team, we get after it, and we went away from doing that. So with the last three days we had to prepare. We told the seniors we lost Senior Night, but you were granted another home game.”
The team’s fine-tuning over the weekend showed Tuesday night. D’Marcus Thomas’ game-opening 3-pointer, Sean Goddard’s follow-up basket and Jalen Archie’s 3-point play sparked the Redhawks and they never looked back.
Westwood led 33-18 at the half, outscored the Chiefs 12-5 in the third quarter to take a 45-23 lead going into the third, and held a 32-point lead with three minutes left before North Myrtle Beach rallied for a couple of scores.
“We went back to the script,” Robinson said. “We went back to what made us good at the start of the year. No matter how teams prepare for us, we’re going to be aggressive early so we can create easy buckets.
“The guys did good flipping the script,” Robinson added. “We had a come-to-Jesus, and I think this team just needed one good win.”
Westwood spread the scoring across the board. Junior starter Donovan Mickle led the way with 14 points, junior starter Jayden Crews had eight points, and senior starter Sean Goddard had six points. Juniors Bryson Hardy and Quentin McGill, and sophomore A.J.Veal came off the bench and put in six points apiece. Ten players on the roster scored for the Redhawks.
“Senior night showed me a lot, showed me some seniors that played different, but since we got back to pressure basketball, those guys were better,” Robinson said. “We changed a lot of lineups, and the guys love each other and they handled that well.”
Noah Louder led North Myrtle Beach with 10 points. The Chiefs had 21 turnovers and were outrebounded 28-17.
Westwood turns to a second-round game at No.1 Conway (22-4, 9-1) Friday. The Tigers won the Region 6-5A championship and received a first-round bye. They average 51.7 points per game, and allow an average of 41.6 points per game.
Junior point guard Trevon Johnson leads the team with a 12.7 scoring average. Senior center Javion Crawford averages 8.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.
“We’re excited,” Robinson said. “It’s playoff basketball, baby.”
The Westwood girls (13-14) wasted no time dismissing Conway (2-19) Monday afternoon. Aneya Britt scored 13 points and Amari Alexander added 10 points as the Redhawks eased past the Tigers 51-14.
Westwood had a 16-9 lead in the first half, but stormed the floor after intermission and blistered Conway 35-5 in the second half. The Redhawks shut out the Tigers in a 16-0 third quarter.
Head coach Gregory Bauldrick, speaking after his girls ended the region season on a 3-game winning streak capped with a 58-19 win over West Florence, said he thinks his young team has turned the corner after a 3-6 start in region play.
“We’re excited about that, based on our style of play and what we’re looking for versus who are opponents are,” Bauldrick said. “I think we’re a much better team than what our record indicates and I think we’re starting to peak at the right time.”
The task gets harder for the girls Thursday at White Knoll. Westwood lost twice to the Timberwolves (17-9, 7-3 Region 4-5A) in December.
Head coach Corretta Ferguson took over at White Knoll three years ago, after the team went 1-18 in 2022. The team won 10 games over the last two seasons, but this season the Timberwolves have broken out under the court leadership of leading scorer and rebounder, senior Shaelyn Hayes (14.4 ppg, 9.1 rpg.) Senior Emory Waters-Inman averages 11.9 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
Thursday
Girls
SumteR – 6-4-5-4 — 19
Westwood – 9-15-20-14 — 58
S – A. Myers 8, Tindal 3, Gregg 2, Williams 2, K. Myers 2, Davis 1, Thomas 1. W – Amari Alexander 15, Aneya Britt 13, Omeire 8, Rogers 8, Green 6, Curry 3, Cummings 2, Dugger 2, Entzminger 1.
Boys
Sumter – 12-14-16-21 — 63
Westwood – 17-10-15-17 — 59
S – B.J. Brown 30, White 9, Lyles 8, Ward 7, Gregg 3, Richardson 2, Johnson 2, Budden 2. W – Larry Brown 11, Rodney Brown 11, Mickle 9, Goddard 7, Thomas 7, Cockfield 3, Veal 3, Crews 2, Archie 2, Bannister 2, Grant 2.
Playoffs
Girls
Conway – 6-3-0-5 — 14
Westwood – 11-5-16-19 — 51
W – Aneya Britt 13, Amari Alexander 10, Davis 6, Omeire 6, Dugger 6, Curry 4, Heath 4, Entzminger 2.
Tuesday
Boys
North Myrtle Beach – 7-11-5-10 — 33
Westwood – 13-20-12-15 — 60
N – Noah Louder 10, Hill 9, Oxendine 4, Cloninger 2, Lewis 2, Stevenson 2, Vaught 2. W – Donovan Mickle 14, Crews 8, Goddard 6, Veal 6, McGill 6, Hardy 6, Archie 5, Thomas 4, Cockfield 3, L.Brown 2.
