Westover splits with Carver-Columbus

ALBANY — In their first meeting with Carver-Columbus, the Westover Patriots were able to hold on for a 66-62 Region 1-AAAA victory at Westover’s Boston Garden Tuesday night.

Kris Garnder sank four straight free throws in the final minute to give the Patriots the lead and eventually the win. He finished with a team-high 20 points. Jamarea Grier added 14 points.

With 4:13 left, Ikenine Ochie caught an inbound pass for Westover and put it in for two to tie the game at 58. Grier would then hit back-to-back jumpers and put the Patriots ahead 62-60.

Carver converted a wild circus shot to tie the game with one minute to go, but Gardner sealed the victory from the free throw line.

Westover head coach Dallis Smith said his team was able to keep the Tigers off-balanced down the stretch which made the difference in the game.

“I thought down there at the end, switching it up on defense kind of threw them off in rhythm and that’s what we’ve been doing,” he said. “We were trying to get the right lineup on the floor because they went small and went quick and we had to get our big guys out so we could match up.”

The game was tied at 13 at the end of the first before Gardner got hot from behind the arc. He knocked down a total of four 3-pointers on the night.

The Patriots took a 10-point lead and extended it to as many as 12 in the third quarter before the Tigers came charging back. Carver’s Alex Wilson knocked down a three to make it a one-point game, and Smith said his team got too comfortable in the beginning of the second half.

“We came out flat,” he said. “As always, that first three, four minutes in the third quarter is crucial and we talk about that all the time. We didn’t come out and match their energy in the third quarter on the defensive end.”

Carver grabbed a 57-56 lead with about 6:30 left after two free throws from Daniel Melvin, but Smith said his team was able to show poise down the stretch and did a better job of executing to win the game.

“I felt better,” he said. “I thought we shared the ball well, a lot better than what we’ve been doing, so it’s an improvement.”

Westover has seen every team in its region and are in the middle of the pack at 6-3. Smith said he feels pretty good about how they stack up.

“I think if we, once again, listen to what the coaches are saying and pick it up on the defensive end, we’ll be ok,” he said. “We gotta have that intensity on the defensive end, and we’ve been preaching that from the jump.”

Carver girls 70, Westover 28

It was a rough go for the Westover Lady Patriots as they hosted one of the top teams in the state in Carver-Columbus. The Lady Patriots battled early but ultimately fell.

Carver took an early 7-3 lead to start, but free-throw shooting kept Westover in the game in the opening minutes. It was a 7-2 foul count at around the 5:16 mark, and Westover took advantage of the opportunities.

ShMiya Jones knocked down a pair for the Lady Patriots off of a technical called on Carver, cutting the Carver deficit to 9-7 with 4:27 left in the quarter.

From there, things got out of hand in a hurry. Carver’s Mariah Igus knocked down a 3-pointer and then the Lady Tigers came back down the court and scored two more points in the same corner. They closed the quarter on a 16-0 run and went into the second period leading 25-7.

Kameron Shelley nailed a jumper for Westover to start the second and ended the scoring drought, but Westover head coach Lewis Smith said Carver’s press overwhelmed his team and made it hard to mount any type of comeback.

“The press made us fall apart. We just fell apart,” he said. “Their defensive intensity, their quickness, it got us overwhelmed and we just fell apart.”

The full-court press is something the Lady Patriots have been struggling with all year. Over the course of the season, they’ve made strides at breaking it, but Smith said what came at them Tuesday was something they weren’t able to prepare for.

“I think we’ve got people in the right place, we’re just not executing,” he said. “Their quickness and speed, we can’t simulate that in practice.”

Westover got baskets from Chastity Pickett, Sanaa Small and Dayshea Polite in the third but managed just two points as a team in the fourth quarter. Smith said he expects his young team to take its lumps these next few games as they face an incredibly tough stretch of their season.

“We’re in for it when we go over there to Columbus. They’re not gonna quit doing what they do, we’ve just gotta get better at doing what we do,” he said. “We’ve just gotta rise up, swell up, execute and try to play.”

Jones led the Lady Patriots in scoring with seven points.