The varsity boys’ basketball team defended their home court against the Leander Lions on Tuesday, Feb. 5. The Warriors’ strong offense kept them in the lead for the entire game.

The first quarter kicked off with a two-pointer from Ethan Brown ‘19 that came about from incredibly aggressive offense from the Warriors. Almost immediately after this, the Lions came close to countering with their own two-pointer, but this was thwarted, and Corey Levinson ‘19 scored a three-pointer in the aftermath. Christian Robinson ‘19 followed with another three-pointer. Patrick Sladek ‘19, after retrieving a rebound, dodged his way to a two-pointer. The Lions scored their first points of the game with two free throws. Heston Williams ‘19 scored a three-pointer, and the Lions tried to catch up with two back-to-back two-pointers, but before they could come any closer, the quarter ended with a score of 13-6 in the Warriors’ favor.

“Prior to the game, I could tell from the team’s mentality that we were locked in from the start,” Levinson said. “I knew that everyone was in their own zone, and I could tell that things were going to go our way. I give credit to Leander’s coach; They did an incredible job of fighting back. Our guys showed a lot of resilience, and keeping that lead is a tough thing to hold on to, but I think we did a pretty good job.”

The second quarter saw the Lions further their attempt to catch up with a two-pointer right off the bat, but Robinson scored a three-pointer to counter this play. Luke Durham ‘19 also shot a three-pointer, and Levinson followed with a two-pointer. Robinson scored again, this time a two-pointer, and the Lions retaliated with their own two-pointer. Leander was still massively behind, and a three-pointer from Zach Shrull ‘19 kept them there, ending the second quarter with a score of 26-10, still with the Warriors in the lead.

“We came out fast. We started out on a 10-0 run, which is pretty important because that team is very good in a matchup zone, which is difficult to get through,” Sladek said. “I usually sit through that when they’re in the lead, but since we were up early, they weren’t able to do that, so we were forced to play defense and that was easier for us when it came to getting more points. When we were up, we didn’t give up the lead and we played really good defense. They only scored ten points in the first half, which is pretty crazy if you think about it.”

For the halftime show, students from kindergarten to second grade participating in the Westwood Cheer Camp came out and gave a quick performance, having rehearsed at a clinic over the weekend. Following the cheer routine, the third quarter began, and the Lions increased their aggressiveness to obtain a massive boost in score. They managed to score two free throws and two-pointers, but Robinson came back with two more two-pointers. Still desperate to gain the lead, the Lions shot a three-pointer, and Williams and Sladek kept up the lead with a two and three-pointer respectively. With little time left on the clock, the Lions made a last ditch effort to catch up with a free throw and two back-to-back three-pointers, but still hadn’t done so by the end of the quarter, wrapping up with a score of 35-26, the Warriors still in the lead.

“I think the game went pretty well,” Brandon Parks ‘20 said. “We played great defense in the two and three zone. We didn’t go man, though, because it was really hard to guard them [the Lions].”

The fourth quarter proved to be the most eventful of them all, starting immediately with a two-pointer from Parks and a three-pointer from Robinson. The Lions scored a two-pointer that was instantly countered by Brown and Robinson, who both scored two-pointers. The Lions scored two free throws and a two-pointers, and Williams also shot a two-pointer. At this point, the Lions were coming close to tieing with the Warriors, and came even closer with a three and two-pointer. A free throw from Levinson and two more from Robinson pushed the two scores further away, but a three-pointer from the Lions negated this. The rest of the points earned by the Warriors were free throws from Levinson and Robinson. The Lions scored three two-pointers, but were still behind, and before they could do anything about it, time was up, ending the game with a final score of 58-51 with the Warriors claiming another victory.

The Warriors will face off against the Stony Point Tigers away from home on Friday, Feb. 8.