Westlake boys falter in 2nd half, lose to Douglass in Holiday Hoops Classi; Eagles boys, girls advance
By AJ MASON
Staff writer
The Westlake boys’ basketball team started off its season by winning four of its five games but was unable to add another as it fell 69-47 to Fredrick Douglass of Prince George’s County in the quarterfinals of the Waldorf Holiday Hoops Classic Wednesday at North Point High School.
The Wolverines jumped out to 23-15 lead in the last four minutes of the first half. Douglass went on a 12-4 run end the second quarter to tie the game at 27 all by halftime. But the second half was a different story as Westlake faltered with Douglass outscoring it 23-9 in the third quarter, and put together a 19-11 fourth quarter to cap off the victory.
Douglass advanced to Thursday night’s semifinal game against Sidwell Friends School, a private school in Washington D.C., at Westlake High School. That game finished too late for inclusion in this edition.
Westlake took on Cesar Chavez of D.C. in the consolation round on Thursday afternoon, also at Westlake and also too late for inclusion in this edition.
After losing two of its first three games, Douglass was on a four-game winning streak entering Thursday.
“In the first half we didn’t have our rhythm,” said Douglass head coach Tyrone Massenburg, whose team hadn’t played since its 78-73 win over county foe Surrattsville on Dec. 20. “We had to get the rust off and I told the team to be more aggressive in the second half and we did that. This was one of our better wins of the season. I was proud of the boys. We’ve faced some really tough teams. Westlake had us in the first half, but other than that we were able to control the tempo.”
In the second half Douglass came out running in transition and the Wolverines had some key turnovers that hurt them down the stretch.
“I don’t know what happen,” Westlake head coach Edward Mouton said. “They came out with more energy than we did. They won more 50-50 balls than we did and just wanted it more. The turnovers really hurt us. In the third quarter, that’s how they were able to blow the game open.”
Douglass had an array of players in double figures and was led by junior forward Marsalis Hurley’s 12 points. Senior guard Saquan-Epps Walker added 11 points in the winning effort.
“We knew in the second half we had to come out strong and we just took the lead and never looked back,” Hurley said. “We were very strong in transition, on defense and we had very good ball movement. This year we have an all-around team and we have a lot of good scorers. In the first half Westlake was very competitive, they have some quick guards. I thought in the second half we matched their intensity.”
Westlake (4-2 overall) had good performances from senior guard Philip Jackson with 11 points, while senior Charles Clark, the team’s only returning starter from a year ago, added 9 points.
In other quarterfinal action, Sidwell Friends (12-1) defeated Lackey on Wednesday afternoon, 54-40. Sidwell had eight players reach the scoring column as Matt Hillman had a game-high 19 points, and Phillip McGloin scored 12 points.
Lackey (1-5) was led by D.J. Gather’s 16 points, while C.J. Redden scored 10 points. Matt Dixon added six points for the Chargers.
Lackey took on Northern on Thursday afternoon in a consolation round game, which finished too late for inclusion in this edition.
North Point (5-1) earned an 83-56 victory over Cesar Chavez of Washington County in its quarterfinal round on Wednesday and had four players in double figures.
Senior point guard Marquis Wright had a game-high 25 points, senior forward Naim Muhammad scored 16 off the bench, senior Matt Bonds scored 14, and senior guard Anthony Williams added 13.
Over in girls action, North Point exploded to a 75-33 victory over Hayfield (Va.) in its quarterfinal on Wednesday at Westlake High School.
The Eagles (6-0 overall) took a 17-8 lead in the first quarter, and outscored Hayfield 25-6 in the second quarter en route to the runaway victory. Senior forward Khalia Prather scored 14 points, senior Ebane Mainor scored 11 points and Tasia Butler added 10 points in the victory.
North Point took on Battlefield (Va.) in the semifinal round on Thursday a game that finished too late for inclusion in this edition.
Westlake (5-0), who earned a 52-27 victory over Ballou of Washington D.C. on Wednesday in the other quarterfinal, were led by junior guard Shanea Butler with 12 points, while Alexus Willey added 11 points.
The Wolverines took on Fairfax (Va.) in Thursday’s other semifinal. Fairfax defeated Lackey 66-24 in Wednesday’s quarterfinal.
ajmason@somdnews.com