Old school still works
- Updated: February 18, 2015
UPDATED: Westminster Christian uses no frills taking down White Plains in regional final
White Plains’ Eli Hightower (L) takes his defensive stance against Westminster tournament MVP Trey Petty. On the cover, Wildcats coach Chris Randall embraces seniors Dillon Greenwood and Kolby Burgess (5) when it was over. (Photos by Micaela Truett)
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
JACKSONVILLE — There was nothing fancy about the way the end came for White Plains Wednesday.
No gimmick defenses. No crazy plays. No draw it up in the huddle and see if it works; just solid, old-school basketball between two straight-forward quality teams.
Just the way Westminster Christian coach Ronnie Stapler likes it. And just what White Plains coach Chris Randall expected of him.
At this time of year, Stapler said, everything is done in the half-court. Westminster tightened its half-court defense in the second half Wednesday, put together a strong fourth quarter and ruined White Plains’ bid to make the Class 4A Final Four 51-41 in the Northeast Regional final at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
“Coaches come in two flavors,” Stapler explained. “Simplicity-and-execution and surprise-and-change, and I ain’t never thought I’d been smart enough to trick anybody, so we try to be simple and execute.”
Randall knew what his team was going to see in the matchup and the key to beating it.
“He’s an old goat, a legend, rascal; I’ve been knowing him for years,” Randall said. “You’re not going to out-fox him, you’re going to have to make plays and we didn’t make enough of them today.
“He won this game in November and December when he probably took 45 minutes a day working on his half-court defense. He believes in half-court man-to-man, we do, too; theirs was just a little bit better.”
By doing what it does best, Westminster (20-11) held the Wildcats (25-7) to five points in the third quarter to grab the lead and outscored them 20-12 in the fourth to pull away.
White Plains carried a four-point lead into the third quarter, but scored only two baskets — a jumper by Kevin Carr in the first minute and a layup by Nathan Gilbert with 4:04 left.
“Their third quarter was exceptional; their half-court defense really good,” Randall said. “And you knew when they got the lead they’re so patient running their stuff an eight-minute quarter was going to be like five and a half minutes.
“In a game like that when you’re down six it’s almost like being down 10 or 11. They did a good job milking the clock running their offense and shortening the game up. The third quarter is when it really turned.”
Tournament MVP Trey Petty led Westminster with 23 points and seven rebounds. He was 7 of 16 from the floor, including two long-range 3-pointers. Every time White Plains seemed to make a run, Petty seemed to be where with a basket or two to turn it away.
“He’s a really good player,” Stapler said. “He jumps like a potted plant. He’s not a great athlete, but he is very crafty and clever.”
Stapler said his team has been “awesome” defensively since Christmas and on this day it really did a number of White Plains gunner Jerod Guthrie. It held the Wildcats’ best outside threat to only four points and 0-for-6 from behind the arc.
“It was probably the best defense I played against all year,” Guthrie said. “They watched the first game and probably game-planned to stop me and Nate, but I think Nate slipped through.”
Gilbert scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds in his final game with the Wildcats; he was 7-of-8 from the floor with several of his buckets coming on putbacks. Carr had 10 points and kept the Wildcats in it in the first half.
The Wildcats were 15 of 34 from the field as a team, but only 1 of 13 from 3-point range and that one came at the buzzer when it didn’t impact the outcome.
“You look at the shooting, you think White Plains had a bad day shooting,” Randall said. “It’s because Westminster can guard. They guarded great.”
White Plains senior Nathan Gilbert drives past a Westminster defender Wednesday. Gilbert scored 14 points in his final high school game. (Photo by Bridget Merriman)
Westminster Christian 51, White Plains 41
WHITE PLAINS (25-7) – Jerod Guthrie 2-10 0-0 4, Dillon Greenwood 1-1 0-0 3, Michael McGuirk 1-4 5-5 7, Nathan Gilbert 7-8 0-0 14, Murphy Doss 0-0 1-2 1, Kolby Burgess 0-0 0-0 0, Kevin Carr 4-5 2-2 10, Eli Hightower 0-5 0-0 0, Jackson Guthrie 0-0 0-0 0, Lawrence Jackson 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 15-34 10-11 41.
WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN (20-11) – Trey Petty 7-16 7-8 23, Dee Mayfield 0-1 1-2 1, Tysean Whitehead 0-3 0-0 0, John Kendall 3-9 0-0 8, Jarrett Murphy 0-1 5-5 5, Pug Strong 4-6 1-2 10, Jared Smith 2-2 0-0 4, John Parker 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson Kendall 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-38 14-17 51.
White Plains 10 14 5 12 — 41
Westminster 13 7 11 20 — 51
3-point goals: White Plains 1-13 (Je. Guthrie 0-6, Greenwood 1-1, McGuirk 0-2, Hightower 0-4); Westminster 5-11 (Petty 2-4, Jn. Kendall 2-5, Strong 1-2). Rebounds: White Plains 26 (Gilbert 9), Westminster 18 (Petty 7). Total fouls: White Plains 15, Westminster 10. Officials: Booker, Harris, James.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login