Varsity Boys Basketball takes down San Marcos, 59-58
With the ball in hand, Zach Engels ’22 goes up for a layup. The Warriors were up for majority of the second half.
Bringing the ball up the court, Henry Chuo ’23 looks at the other players to pass the ball. This was near the end of the fourth quarter, so the tensions were high.
Reaching up, Gabe Parr ’24 falls away from a reverse layup. Parr ended up making the shot and pushing the Warriors even further into the lead.
Running down the court, Zach Engels ’22 makes a fast break towards the basket. This was one of the only fast breaks made by Westwood in the second half.
Henry Chuo ’23 runs towards the net with the ball. This play ended with the Warriors getting a three point shot.
After winning 59 – 58, Westwood celebrates on the court. This went on for over 10 minutes.
In a game that went down to the very end, the Westwood Warriors (30-5) defeated San Marcos (27-10) 59-58 at Austin High School. Zach Engels ‘22 exploded for 20 points, along with Josh Choy ‘22 hitting 4 threes. Juniors Henry Chuo and Gabe Parr each had clutch buckets to seal the victory for Westwood.
Engels had an amazing game, continuing to have a staggering senior season. He led the team with 20 points, countless assists, and defensive stops. He has led this team to the second round of the playoffs. Engels made it all the way to the Regional semifinals in his sophomore year.
“Our game plan going in was to be patient. Our hope was that they can play defense for long possession and then we can be aggressive and attack downhill. I felt like we executed that very well.” Engels said, “A lot of my teammates have stepped up, especially Josh. Josh played amazing, a lot of clutch shots throughout the game. So really glad to see him step.”
Choy also had an incredible night. He was hitting clutch three after clutch three. After every shot, the crowd erupted in cheer. Choy is in his final season and he hopes to go as far as he can in his last run. Choy finished with 14 points and a victory.
“The game was intense, but we pulled through as a team.” Choy said, “Everyone had their big moments and we were able to pull through and win!”
Malik Presley ‘23 plays for San Marcos and is one of the top 100 players in the nation. Presley’s team was down one point with 1.3 seconds on the clock. He had a 1 and 1 free throw opportunity. He missed the first, and Westwood secured the rebound.
After the game, the whole court was stormed by Westwood fans. They sang “Na Na Na, Hey, Hey, Hey, Goodbye!” to the San Marcos crowd. All players couldn’t hold back their excitement.
“We knew keeping them in front of us is going to be the biggest part of the game. It’s really hard to do because they’re the fastest guys around,” Coach Hastings said. “The last possession of the game to kind of slow down whatever man said they drew up and luckily ended up working out.”
The Warriors take on San Antonio Reagan at Johnson High School on Friday, Feb 25, 2022.
![Multiple Westwood Girls block a Vista Ridge player. Westwoods defense slacked off the entire game, but at certain points it improved. Im proud of us for playing hard and keep[ing] going even when times get rough, Caroline Doughtery 25 said.](https://westwoodhorizon.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/24-1-30_girlsvarsitybasketball-ashforda-2-600x400.jpg)
