Westhill 86,
Skaneateles 48
I really hoped this would be a good game. Unfortunately, Westhill’s too damn good to expect one of
those right now. These two played each other at the Carrier Dome last year
in the Section III Class B finals, won by Westhill en route to a Final 4 trip.
They showed their dominance from the opening tip, and my early pick to win STATES in Class B gave me a nice reason
to believe that.
Right from the start, they poured it on. Tyler Reynolds scored 7 quick ones in
the first 2:36 of the game, and his teammates added points around him almost
every possession, while Skaneateles couldn’t get anything going. It took until
midway through the 1st quarter for Skaneateles’ coach to call a
timeout, but they were already down 15-2. It got to 21-2 before Skaneateles
scored again with 2:23 left in the 1st, ending a 16-0 run. Westhill
was up 29-8 at the end of the 1st, 13 of those points coming from
Reynolds. The Lakers settled down and started to play better in the 2nd,
but the damage had been done. The deficit shrank to under 20 for a grand total
of 1:55 late in the 2nd & early in the 3rd. A trey
from Billy Billy (beat that name, world)
put Westhill up 40-14 midway through the 2nd before Skaneateles went
on their 12-4 run, which included 6 points in 1 possession. Westhill led 47-28
at the half and made it look easy.
More of the same in the 3rd, where Westhill
worked the lead up to 27 before Skaneateles brought the lead down to 65-43 by
the end of the quarter. All 5 starters for the Warriors can get you, but it was
a steady diet of a pair of standouts, Reynolds & Jordan Roland. They scored
their 20 & 17 respectively in 3 quarters of action. Jeff Lobello, who
doesn’t kill you in the scoring column although he could, added contributions on
both ends. He scored 7 points, but led the offense & the press defensively
for his team and had more assists & steals than I felt like keeping track
of. He also put an indent in the padding on the wall from a layup he swatted.
Ball, meet hand! Westhill’s bench played the 4th quarter
exclusively, and they still extended the lead, outscoring Skaneateles 21-5 in
the 4th. 5 different Warriors scored in the quarter.
For Westhill, Tyler Reynolds dropped 20 & Jordan
Roland added 17. The starters got to watch the 4th quarter – or else
the numbers could’ve been higher. Billy Billy had 9, and Dan O’Connell added 7
along with Jeff Lobello. Ryan Roland came off the bench to score 8. Chris Knupp
scored 18 for Skaneateles in the loss. He was their bright spot – got his buckets
by working hard and absorbing contact. Bobby Leslie added 10 for the Lakers.
Collin Jones, normally Mr. Buckets for Skaneateles, was held to just 7 points.
Westhill on your schedule this year? Good luck.
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