Westover boys basketball swamps Colquitt County, Lady Packers win girls game

ALBANY — After starting the season with two close losses to Monroe and Sumter County, the Westover boys (1-2) swamped the visiting Colquitt County Packers (0-1) Saturday night in Westover’s first home game of the season, beating the boys from Moultrie 67-29. The Lady Packers, on the other hand, topped Westover’s girls 48-36 to start the night.

Westover’s speed and intense full-court pressure were more than the Packers could handle and the Patriots pulled out to a 27-8 lead in the first quarter and led 48-14 at the half. Westover’s starting five didn’t play much in the second half, but the Patriots continued to dominate throughout.

Westover freshman Jalen Holmes led the Patriots with 17 points on the night while senior Kemari Leverette followed with 10. Antonio Felder added eight. Colquitt County freshman Cason Harden led the Packers with 14 points.

In the girls game, the Lady Packers (1-0) jumped out to an early lead and never trailed even though the Lady Patriots stayed close early. The Lady Packers only led 10-8 after the first quarter but the Westover girls simply could not get the ball into the basket in the second quarter. One trip down the court, Westover had seven shots at the basket, and finally, La’Daja Caldwell put in two points on an inbounds play. But with Westover’s lack of points, the Packers led 25-13 at the half. Westover’s shooting picked up some in the second half, but every time the Lady Patriots would close the gap, Colquitt County would get a basket or two to stay out front.

Rayven Thurston scored eight fourth-quarter points to lead Westover with 14 on the night. Caldwell added nine. Carliss Johnson led the Lady Packers with 14 points before leaving the game with an ankle injury and D’Zeriyah Polite finished with 13.

Joe WhitfieldJoeWhitfield[email protected]