Westview tops ’Cats with time to spare

Posted: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 12:00 pm

By KEVIN WEAKS
Press Sports
Both Westview teams had their wins over Haywood well in hand before the final horn sounded.
One came much earlier than the other.
The Lady Chargers were in command by the end of the first quarter and coasted home with a 65-27 triumph, while the Westview boys put away a tough and talented Tomcat squad in the final minutes of a 79-70 verdict.
The night and season sweep of Haywood continued Westview’s winning ways overall and in District 13AA play.
Westview’s No. 2-ranked girls remain solidly atop the league standings at 11-0 with a 19-2 overall mark. The Charger boys, meanwhile, are now 9-2 in the district and 17-5 for the season.
Haywood’s girls continue to struggle through the season, falling to 1-11 overall and 1-10 in 13AA. The boys are in the middle of the pack at 11-10 overall and 6-5 in league play.
As the 2012-13 regular season begins its stretch run with about three weeks to go before postseason play begins, the Chargers are back in action with 13AA games tonight at home against Milan.
WV 79, Haywood 70 (B)
Antonio Hogard led four Charger players in double figures with 14 points, and Justin Johnson gave Westview some much-needed muscle in the paint with 14 points.
“An absolute complete game on the interior on both ends,” Charger head coach J.B. Suiter said. “We did a tremendous job of being physical inside against a good rebounding team. Justin Johnson stepped up in a big way and dominated inside. Maybe that’s a step in the right direction for us to have an inside game, too.”
An evenly-matched game throughout, Westview took the lead for good on a pair of 3-pointers in the final minutes of the third quarter. Dallas Callins scored his only points of the game on a triple from the left side with 2:38 to play in the third, putting Westview back in front at 51-49 after Kyler Douglas had given the Tomcats a 49-48 lead on a layup just a few seconds earlier.
Then, Jazell Banker knocked down another trey at 1:51 as Westview expanded its margin to 56-51.
Johnson made a power move inside to put the Chargers ahead 70-65 near the three-minute mark of the fourth period, and then Jordan Davis hit once from the line and took a runout in for a basket to make it 73-65 with 2:08 to play.
A trey by Haywood’s Jordan Varnado at 1:42 was answered on the other end by Baker with 49 seconds to play, and then Westview grabbed its largest lead of nine points twice in the final seconds.
The Chargers had trouble shutting down Sadarius Delk in the game’s early minutes as he helped the Tomcats to a 16-8 lead.
But, Westview closed the first period with eight straight points as Hogard scored twice, Javier Gordon connected once and then Johnson hit twice at the line with 18.5 seconds left to tie the game.
RJ Scott gave the Chargers their first lead on a triple at 7:04 for a 19-18 advantage. Haywood answered with four quick points, however, and then despite a pair of baskets in the paint by Alex Ross, Haywood went ahead 28-23 on a layup off a steal by Varnado.
Westview closed the first half with a 14-4 flurry, Johnson converting a three-point play at 1:07 and then Baker driving to the basket 15 seconds later for a 37-32 halftime advantage.
Baker finished with 12 points, and Gordon was the fourth player for the Chargers in double figures with 10. Delk led all players with 24 points, and Varnado finished with 13.
WV 65, Haywood 27 (G)
The Lady Chargers scored the game’s first seven points, all off turnovers, and never looked back in the easy win.
Kendall Leyhue scored on a putback, Kaitlyn Harrelson knocked down a triple and Tiffany Rechis hit a layup in transition for the early blitz, and then Rechis contributed a 3-pointer and Teddy Vincent hit a pair of layups, the second resulting in a three-point play as Westview led 20-8 after one quarter.
Vincent hit three field goals early in the second period, finishing the first half with 15 points, while Harrelson hit a trey and forced a turnover that led to a Rechis 3-pointer in the final minutes of the half.
Rechis added 10 points in the half as Westview led 39-17.
While the Lady Chargers were very good in the first half, they were nearly flawless in the third frame, outscoring Haywood 23-4 for a 62-21 advantage.
Kendall Leyhue scored along the baseline, and Vincent made a nice pivot into the lane as Westview scored the first 10 points of the third.
Later, Kaley Leyhue and Vincent each dropped in threes.
“I thought we started well on defense,” Westview skipper Sean Stephenson said. “We were able to create some turnovers and get some runouts early. We played better team basketball in the third quarter. We shared the ball better and got some easy shots.”
Vincent finished with 22, Rechis had 11 and Kendall Leyhue scored 10 for the Lady Chargers. Published in The WCP 1.22.13