Westfall pulls away in 4th over Fairfield
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — It's no secret Westfall head coach Matt Carson made his return to Grandle Gymnasium Tuesday evening, but true to form, Carson had nothing but praise for his former club, although it was his current team who left the court with a win as Westfall defeated the host Fairfield Lions, 75-63.
Though some fans in the stands had mixed emotions before, during and after the non-conference win by the visiting Mustangs, Carson and his club ignored the smattering of boos mixed in with the cheers during the most emotionally fueled visitors' coach introduction of the season.
As he did for five seasons as head coach at Fairfield, Carson said nothing but praise for not only his own team following the game, but about his opponent as well.
"When we got our hands extended, I thought we got going," Carson said. "When we did, then we got tipped passes, but once we got our hands extended in the zone, we made it hard on them to get shots.
"It was weird coaching on the other side of the floor … but actually, the thing of it is that I coached on the other side of the court for five years, but the side I coached on (Tuesday) is the side we played on when I was in high school.
"I just want to thank the community of Leesburg. I'm going to be a Lion my whole life at heart, but you know, we have a job to do now at Westfall and get this program where we want it to be. I had nothing to do with this victory … this was about my seven seniors and the rest of the team stepping up and taking care of things. I'm so proud of them."
As for the game, it was settled in the final eight minutes as a five-point lead after three quarters (55-50) was quickly cut to a three-point lead after a jumper from Quentin Williams, but the Lions never could regain the lead in the final frame.
Williams led all scorers with 26 points. The senior made three 3-pointers and was 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. He also made seven two-point baskets.
"In the second half, I thought we did a better job of finding (Quentin) Williams," Carson said. "I'm going to tell you right now, when he started hitting shots early on, I looked at my bench and told them, 'that is the best player in Division IV,' and I don't care what the coaches vote this weekend.
"I've seen it for three years now, and I'm telling you, that ball team is only going to go as far as Quentin Williams can take them. He was hitting shots to keep them in the ball game. Their supporting cast hit big shots against us as well."
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Williams' jumper was answered with four straight points by Westfall's Doug Hardin for a 59-52 lead, forcing the Lions to call a timeout with 5:19 left in regulation.
Following the timeout, Alek Stonerock added two more points to the visitors' lead, and after a free throw by the Lions, Westfall scored four more points from Cody See and Stonerock, putting WHS ahead, 65-55 with 3:42 on the clock.
From there, WHS outscored the host Lions, 11-6 to secure the win.
The loss drops the Lions to 10-11 overall. The Mustangs, of the Scioto Valley Conference, move to 6-14 overall.
"We were picking them up full-court and putting pressure on their guards, but we just left their big men open in the back," Fairfield head coach Everett Snyder said. "We have to concentrate on rotating defensively so we can cover the back."
Though the Mustangs were able to break away in the final few minutes of the matchup, that wasn't the case in the first three quarters, as FHS trailed by just two points in the first at 20-18, and at the half, the Lions were still down by two points at 34-32.
In the first quarter, Elijah Carmean began what was Parents' Night, as seniors from basketball, pep band and cheerleading were honored before the game, with a 3-pointer. From there, Westfall scored the next eight points for a five-point lead.
Williams answered with a 3-pointer for the Lions, but it was countered with a trey by Jon Thomas. A third consecutive 3-pointer was made, this time by Lion senior Shawn Young, who knocked down the trifecta with 4:31 left in the first, bringing the Lions to within two points of tying the score at 11-9.
As both teams continued to answer each other's buckets, Joey Wilson scored the final two FHS baskets of the opening frame. Wilson finished with nine points.
Ryan Bates, who totaled 11 points, tied the score at 20 by opening the second with a layup, off an assist by Williams. From there, there were more 3-pointers made as Williams sank two treys, while Dylan Anderson made a three for WHS, followed with two free throws by David Robinson.
Anderson led Westfall with 21 points, including four 3-pointers. Also for WHS, Hardin ended with 15 points and Stonerock totaled 18 points.
Later in the second, Wilson brought FHS to within one-point of tying the score at 31-30, and Blake Hildebrant, who ended with eight points, put FHS ahead with a put-back bucket with 56 seconds left in the second.
The lead looked like it would stand, but Anderson sank his third 3-pointer of the quarter with nine seconds left on the clack, putting WHS ahead by two points.
In the third, Westfall outscored the Lions, 21-18. Scoring points for FHS were Williams, Hildebrant (two 3-pointers), Bates with four free throws and Gage Montgomery.
Snyder feels a game like this helps prepare the Lions for not only their regular season finale this Friday, but for their postseason matchup vs. Whiteoak on Tuesday, Feb. 26 at Valley High School, with the sectional final winner earning a trip to the Convocation Center at Ohio University.
"When we play Whiteoak in the tournament, Doc Seip is a skilled player, and even though he's not the size of the two players we faced here, we have to realize to stop players like them, we have to get around better defensively and stop them from getting the basketball," he said. "This was a comparable matchup inside for us when we face Whiteoak, and we need to do a better job of stopping the big men inside."
Though some fans in the stands had mixed emotions before, during and after the non-conference win by the visiting Mustangs, Carson and his club ignored the smattering of boos mixed in with the cheers during the most emotionally fueled visitors' coach introduction of the season.
As he did for five seasons as head coach at Fairfield, Carson said nothing but praise for not only his own team following the game, but about his opponent as well.
"When we got our hands extended, I thought we got going," Carson said. "When we did, then we got tipped passes, but once we got our hands extended in the zone, we made it hard on them to get shots.
"It was weird coaching on the other side of the floor … but actually, the thing of it is that I coached on the other side of the court for five years, but the side I coached on (Tuesday) is the side we played on when I was in high school.
"I just want to thank the community of Leesburg. I'm going to be a Lion my whole life at heart, but you know, we have a job to do now at Westfall and get this program where we want it to be. I had nothing to do with this victory … this was about my seven seniors and the rest of the team stepping up and taking care of things. I'm so proud of them."
As for the game, it was settled in the final eight minutes as a five-point lead after three quarters (55-50) was quickly cut to a three-point lead after a jumper from Quentin Williams, but the Lions never could regain the lead in the final frame.
Williams led all scorers with 26 points. The senior made three 3-pointers and was 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. He also made seven two-point baskets.
"In the second half, I thought we did a better job of finding (Quentin) Williams," Carson said. "I'm going to tell you right now, when he started hitting shots early on, I looked at my bench and told them, 'that is the best player in Division IV,' and I don't care what the coaches vote this weekend.
"I've seen it for three years now, and I'm telling you, that ball team is only going to go as far as Quentin Williams can take them. He was hitting shots to keep them in the ball game. Their supporting cast hit big shots against us as well."
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Williams' jumper was answered with four straight points by Westfall's Doug Hardin for a 59-52 lead, forcing the Lions to call a timeout with 5:19 left in regulation.
Following the timeout, Alek Stonerock added two more points to the visitors' lead, and after a free throw by the Lions, Westfall scored four more points from Cody See and Stonerock, putting WHS ahead, 65-55 with 3:42 on the clock.
From there, WHS outscored the host Lions, 11-6 to secure the win.
The loss drops the Lions to 10-11 overall. The Mustangs, of the Scioto Valley Conference, move to 6-14 overall.
"We were picking them up full-court and putting pressure on their guards, but we just left their big men open in the back," Fairfield head coach Everett Snyder said. "We have to concentrate on rotating defensively so we can cover the back."
Though the Mustangs were able to break away in the final few minutes of the matchup, that wasn't the case in the first three quarters, as FHS trailed by just two points in the first at 20-18, and at the half, the Lions were still down by two points at 34-32.
In the first quarter, Elijah Carmean began what was Parents' Night, as seniors from basketball, pep band and cheerleading were honored before the game, with a 3-pointer. From there, Westfall scored the next eight points for a five-point lead.
Williams answered with a 3-pointer for the Lions, but it was countered with a trey by Jon Thomas. A third consecutive 3-pointer was made, this time by Lion senior Shawn Young, who knocked down the trifecta with 4:31 left in the first, bringing the Lions to within two points of tying the score at 11-9.
As both teams continued to answer each other's buckets, Joey Wilson scored the final two FHS baskets of the opening frame. Wilson finished with nine points.
Ryan Bates, who totaled 11 points, tied the score at 20 by opening the second with a layup, off an assist by Williams. From there, there were more 3-pointers made as Williams sank two treys, while Dylan Anderson made a three for WHS, followed with two free throws by David Robinson.
Anderson led Westfall with 21 points, including four 3-pointers. Also for WHS, Hardin ended with 15 points and Stonerock totaled 18 points.
Later in the second, Wilson brought FHS to within one-point of tying the score at 31-30, and Blake Hildebrant, who ended with eight points, put FHS ahead with a put-back bucket with 56 seconds left in the second.
The lead looked like it would stand, but Anderson sank his third 3-pointer of the quarter with nine seconds left on the clack, putting WHS ahead by two points.
In the third, Westfall outscored the Lions, 21-18. Scoring points for FHS were Williams, Hildebrant (two 3-pointers), Bates with four free throws and Gage Montgomery.
Snyder feels a game like this helps prepare the Lions for not only their regular season finale this Friday, but for their postseason matchup vs. Whiteoak on Tuesday, Feb. 26 at Valley High School, with the sectional final winner earning a trip to the Convocation Center at Ohio University.
"When we play Whiteoak in the tournament, Doc Seip is a skilled player, and even though he's not the size of the two players we faced here, we have to realize to stop players like them, we have to get around better defensively and stop them from getting the basketball," he said. "This was a comparable matchup inside for us when we face Whiteoak, and we need to do a better job of stopping the big men inside."