On Tuesday, Dec. 20 the JV boys’ basketball team gathered in the field house during winter break to take on the Leander Lions. The boys played with high energy which allowed them to come out triumphant against the Lions 50-32.

To start the first quarter, Mason Flood ‘19 participated in the jump ball which resulted in the Warriors gaining  possession. The Lions held strong on defense which made it seem difficult for the Warriors to score. However with three-point shots from Zach Shrull ‘19 and Jacob Hines ‘18 the team gained a lead of 13-6 at the end of the first quarter.

The Warriors’ shots continued to add to their score in the second quarter, but with fouls resulting in free throws, the Lions were also able to gain points. Still, the Warriors’ offense stayed strong with good ball movement by point guard Patrick Sladek ‘19 and an interception of the ball by Brandon Kothlow ‘18 which resulted in a turnover. The Lions called a timeout with 3 minutes 51 seconds left in the half, but the Warriors kept the lead of 30-19 going into halftime.

“It’s always fun when we play well together as a team, executing our offense and communicating well on defense,” power forward Ian Cox ‘19 said. “It’s always fun winning in front of our home crowd.”

Coming back from halftime, the two teams appeared to be scrambling across the court in order to defend their basket, but the Warriors stayed together and were able to find the hole and gain points. With 3:39 left in the third quarter, JV coach Stephen Cobb subbed out the starting players. This substitution allowed for two three-pointers made by Hines and Heston Williams ‘19.

Going into the fourth quarter, the Warriors’ defense began to slip as concentration was lost due to a techinical given to Coach Cobb after an argument about fouls with the game’s referee. However, the Warriors stayed confident and continued with solid plays called by Corey Levinson ‘19. With 2:40 left in the game the Lions called another timeout, but still trailed behind the Warriors in points. At the end of the game, the Warriors won with a score of 50-32.

“Going into the game I felt pretty confident in our team, we had played Leander a couple weeks back and it was an easy win,” Hines said. “We limited turnovers and our ball movement was precise. Overall we played great Westwood basketball.”

The JV boys’ basketball will start off the new year with a game against the Hendrickson Hawks at Hendrickson on Jan. 3 at 5:30 p.m.. Go Wood.