Knolles Law-RealEstate Tioga State Bank GUTHRIE SPORTS MED Tioga County Sports ReportDANDY MINI MARTS BX Williams Auto GroupLounsbury Agency


NY STATE BOYS BASKETBALL: MULTI-TALENTED WESTHILL TOO MUCH FOR OWEGO IN REGIONAL CONTEST (2023-03-11)

By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
SYRACUSE — Westhill exploded for an 18-0 run early to put Owego in a big hole and pulled away for a 73-38 victory in NYSPHSAA Class B Boys basketball regional action Saturday.

The Indians held their own in the early stages, trailing just 12-8 when the Warrior eruption occurred. Kam Langdon started the run with a 3-pointer with less than two minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Langdon scored seven points in the period and Omar Robinson, who would finish as the game’s leading scorer, added six more. Shawn Mayes and Luke Gilmartin tacked on one three apiece.

“Early on they made everything,” Owego coach Chris Evans said. “We got beat by a better team. They were good, they were really good. Well-coached, fun to watch, fundamental, physical and quicker.”

The onslaught wasn’t interrupted until John Bangel hit a field goal at 3:25 of the second quarter, making it a 30-10 contest.

Robinson and James Derrick were keys to the effort, each scoring six points.

Westhill led 20-8 after one period of play and stretched its advantage out to 38-16 at the half.

“We've been better defensively, obviously, all year other than that," Evans said. "Offensively, we struggled to score so I was kind of used to that, but just giving up so many points early, and they weren't all easy shots, easy looks. They just made shots. We tried to go zone one time and I think they hit three threes in a row. Even in the man-to-man, when we were getting backdoored, and we schooled that and school that. We knew that was coming, but that's the difference in athleticism, quickness.”

Mayes, the Warriors’ leading scorer this season, but relatively quiet with just five points in the first half, came to life with a 10-point effort in the third period, including his second trey of the game.

Westhill pumped out 18 points in the third quarter, extending the lead to 56-26 heading into the final eight minutes of action.

Despite the loss, Evans still called it a “great season” for his team, which finished with a 15-7 record.

“The kids are down. There were some tears shed in there, but they played hard and they played hard every single game,” he said. “It's not like they didn’t play hard today. They tried, of course they tried, got beat by a better team, and it was a fantastic year.”

Tavelli paced Owego with 13 points and John Bangel added 10 more. Joe Bangel, Joe Palladino and Ben Rollison added three apiece, and Jack Hoyt, Riley Loomis and Aaron Riegel tacked on two each.

Robinson led all scorers with 18 points, Mayes had 17 and Langdon added 16.

——————

IN PHOTO 1: Owego’s John Bangel (4), Joe Bangel and Joe Palladino ... PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.

You've asked about helping ...
here's your chance. Click HERE