Facing the Cedar Ridge Raiders on Monday, Dec. 9, the varsity boys’ basketball team secured a commanding 67-46 victory. The Warriors dominated from start to finish, never relinquishing their lead after a strong first quarter.

“I think our team stepped it up and we had great team chemistry this game and came out with a win,” Luke Carpenter ‘26 said.

The Warriors opened the game with aggressive offense, easily converting layups within the first few minutes. Despite Cedar Ridge matching nearly every Westwood basket early on, the Warriors extended their lead through consecutive three-pointers from the starting lineup. With just over 30 minutes left in the first quarter, Westwood led 16-7. Though both teams committed multiple fouls throughout the quarter, the Warriors maintained control. Jaxon Covin ‘26 secured a crucial steal in the final seconds, through the subsequent shot attempt. The first quarter ended with Westwood ahead 20-11. 

“They had two guys who were pretty good, and if we locked them down, they weren’t gonna win,” Carpenter said. “We held them out and we were able to come with a win, just like we planned.” 

The second quarter opened with another steal leading to a fast break opportunity. Though the initial layup attempt missed, Westwood converted the putback. The Raiders began closing the game, cutting the lead to 22-16 by the 6:30 mark. At the six-minute mark, John McNair ‘26 delivered a devastating ankle-breaker move that sent his defender to the floor before draining a three-pointer, electrifying the crowd and pushing the score to 25-16. The Warriors continued executing easy cuts and layups, but Cedar Ridge fought back to make 27-23 with 4:07 remaining. Laneyn Vallery ‘25 weaved through defenders for a layup to pull the Warriors momentum up and extend the lead to 29-25. McNair caught fire from beyond the arc with 1:48 left, hitting another three to make it 32-25. The final minute saw both teams struggle with possessions, repeatedly losing the ball before crossing half court. Covin capped the half with a last-second layup, giving Westwood a 34-29 advantage at halftime. 

“Today we had a great game,” McNair said. “We really did our thing, the way we played offense and defense; it was really on a whole other level.” 

After the halftime show featuring the t-shirt cannon and an energized student section, the Warriors opened the third quarter with immediate intensity. Within 30 seconds, they pushed their lead to 36-29. Jake Lapenta ‘25 stepped to the free-throw line for Westwood’s first attempts of the game, converting both. The Warriors continued their offensive surge with multiple answered layups as Cedar Ridge’s momentum stalled. When the Raiders became more aggressive and desperate, fouling Sumner Holland ‘25, he calmly sank both free throws. Following a timeout, Vallery drove for another layup. Both teams increased their tempo with numerous fast break attempts, though scoring remained difficult. The Raiders fouled Vallery again at the 3:50 mark, and he made both shots to extend the lead to 47-33. Vallery struck again on the next possession, driving for yet another layup. The warriors’ pace accelerated dramatically as Lapenta and teammates converted several consecutive layups, building a 51-36 advantage. After Cedar Ridge fouled Lapenta once more, the quarter ended 52-42 with Covin scoring the final basket. 

“We watched a lot of films on them,” Kameron Hill ‘29 said. “We just had to stop two of their players and they couldn’t do anything.” 

The fourth quarter began slowly, with neither team scoring for over a minute. Westwood broke the drought with a three-pointer at the 6:14 mark. Following a timeout at 5:46 with the Warriors leading 56-42, Cedar Ridge grew increasingly physical and desperate, attempting multiple three-pointers to close the gap. John Chuo ‘25 connected from downtown to extend the lead. While the Raiders continued missing from beyond the arc, McNair answered with another three-pointer of his own. Cedar Ridge remained scoreless in the quarter until finally converting a basket to make it 63-44. Westwood called timeout with four minutes remaining, clearly in control. The Warriors shifted to a more deliberated offensive approach, running down the clock rather than forcing shots. Cedar Ridge managed one final layup with five seconds left, but the outcome was never in doubt. The final score stood at 67-46. 

“We just forced them to take bad shots while we took good shots on the other end,” McNair said. “You could call it stalling, but we just call it smart basketball.”

The Warriors showcased balanced offensive execution and suffocating defense throughout the game, never allowing Cedar Ridge to mount a serious comeback. The team’s chemistry and strategic game plan proved deceive in securing the district victory. Westwood will return to the court on Friday, Dec. 12 against the Manor Mustangs.