The Campbell Reporter
Sports
Westmont shooters hit the three, win two
By Kevin Sparrer
A new era of basketball is emerging with the Westmont boys team setting the standard.
The three-point shot is the new style of basketball in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League. The Warriors have forgone traditional methods and are literally focusing on the long shots, but it seems to be working.
"We spend 30 to 45 minutes each practice just shooting threes," said Westmont head coach Bill Gerth. "When they go in, we win."
That fact was proven when Westmont handily defeated Leland 52-26 on Feb. 8 with the Warriors hitting 11 threes.
The win cannot be attributed to only one player for Westmont since five different Warriors scored from outside the three-point arc. Patrick Barton led all Westmont scorers with 14 points, 12 of them coming from three-point land. James Weimer added 11 points, with nine from beyond the arc, and Max Schneider scored 10. Ryan Takaki added six points, all from beyond the arc; Brian Scott had six with a three and the only free throw of the game for Westmont; and Greg Tally had five with one three.
The Warriors established their dominance early in the game, holding the Chargers to only four points in the first quarter and scoring 14 of their own.
Westmont continued to pour it on in the second quarter, allowing only four more points from Leland's offense and scoring 12 more to extend the lead to 26-8.
The Chargers did mount a bit of a comeback in the third quarter, outscoring the Warriors 12-9 for the first time in the entire game, but it was all Westmont in the fourth. Westmont's offense got hot, hitting six of its threes in the final period to put up 17 points while holding Leland to only six.
Westmont's defense stood so strong against the Chargers that Leland's high scorer only had five points.
The win for Westmont brought the Warriors to 6-6 in the Mt. Hamilton Division and 16-10 overall with only a pair of games left before the playoffs. Westmont was to visit Pioneer on Feb. 13 and will host Piedmont Hills on Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m.
"Pioneer and Westmont were both in the West Valley Division 10 years ago," said Gerth. "We've been playing against each other for those 10 years so we always play each other hard, and Piedmont knows we are in third place so they won't look past us. They should be two tough games."
The Warriors downed Leigh 64-55 on Feb. 6, with Scott leading the attack with 18 points, including six at the line and a pair of threes. Weimer was close behind with 15, but only one free throw and six points from outside the arc. Barton also had 15 with three at the line and two threes, Schneider added 12 with four free throws and a pair of threes and Talley had four.
In Santa Teresa Division action, Del Mar split last week, defeating Willow Glen 57-43 on Feb. 6 and then falling 55-49 against Silver Creek on Feb. 8.
Jordan Richardson was the offensive force for the Dons against Silver Creek with 15, including a free throw, while Dallin Blank added eight with a pair of threes. Semir Rocevic had seven with three at the line and Jake Steeves had six. Chris Aitchison put up five with a free throw, Taylor Nakatani had three with one at the line, Tanner Condie had a three and Connor McGill scored two.
In the win over the Rams it was Aitchison who led with 14, including a pair of free throws, while Blank added 13 with nine points outside the arc and Steeves scored 12. Richardson put up eight with a pair at the line, Rocevic and Nakatani both had three with a free throw and McGill had two.
The split brought the Dons to 7-5 in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL and 11-13 overall. Del Mar will head to Overfelt on Feb. 13 with a tip-off of 7 p.m. before its final game of the regular season, where it will host Andrew Hill on Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m.