Westover rally falls short, Bainbridge increases region lead to two games

ALBANY – Bainbridge now has a two-game lead over Westover in the region standings after the Patriots (14-6, 3-2) fell behind by 16 points in the second half of Friday night’s game before they created a big rally in the fourth quarter with excellent defense and hot shooting, but the No. 5-ranked Bainbridge Bearcats managed to hold the Patriots off and win 55-47 at the Boston Palace at Westover.

The Bearcats (20-1, 5-0) used their speed and hot shooting in the first half with a tight, physical defense to build a 32-16 halftime lead. The Bearcats hit seven three-pointers in the first half while Westover hit none. The Patriots opened up the second half with more energy on defense and cut the lead somewhat but never got within 10 points of the Bearcats. That changed in the fourth quarter when Westover finally started hitting some threes. Kemari Leverte hit a three from the corner, Kavon Johnson swished a long three and then Jeremiah Waters hit a three from the top of the key that whittled the Bainbridge lead to just four points – 51-47 with 1:23 left in the game. Within the game’s final minute, four different Patriots threw up shots from outside the three-point arc but none fell in and the Bearcats added free throws while the Patriots fouled to get possession.

Johnson led the Patriots with 16 points, Leverette put in 12 and Waters added 11 points for the Patriots.

The Lady Patriots (14-5, 4-1) had the opposite problem but won 57-44. Westover’s girls beat Bainbridge by 21 points early in January, but Friday night could not shake the Lady Bearcats off until very late in the game. The Lady Bearcats were hot to start the game and built an early 12-6 lead before Westover went on a 10-3 run to take their first lead at 16-15. The Lady Patriots led only 40-38 after three quarters, but Westover pulled away in the last quarter by holding the Lady Bearcats to just six fourth-quarter points. The win keeps Westover just one game behind Hardaway in the region standings.

Rayven Thurston led the Lady Patriots with 16 points, La’Daja Caldwell scored 15 and Jada Landers added 14 for the winners.

Westover will play at Hardaway in Columbus Tuesday night.

Joe WhitfieldJoeWhitfield[email protected]