Westside takes down Rutland

Westside head coach Josh Grube thought Friday night’s GHSA Region 4-3A matchup with Rutland would be a high-intensity game because it was Rutland’s senior night and the teams are huge rivals.

But after struggling for most of the first half, Westside outscored Rutland by 13 points during the third quarter and dominated the rest of the game for a 64-43 win.

Three who mattered

Khavon Moore: After two early dunks, Moore managed only two more points in the first half as he struggled to get anything going against the Hurricanes. But his cold shooting ended in the third quarter as he scored the final 10 points of the quarter to give Westside a 51-32 lead. Moore ended the game with 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Samone Reed: Reed also struggled early but scored five straight points late in the second quarter to help Westside take a 28-22 at the half. He scored nine quick points in the third quarter to ignite a struggling Seminoles offense and finished with 14 points.

Deshon James: James scored nine points in the first half to keep Rutland in the game, and he ended up with 15 points to go with 10 rebounds.

Turning point

Westside had the lead up to 11 late in the first half at 28-17, but Rutland scored the final five points in the first half on a James basket and a 3-pointer by Jordan Stephens. But Westside came out in the second half in a 1-3-1 zone with Moore at the top of the zone, and the defense frustrated Rutland. Westside outscore Rutland 19-5 during the first four minutes of the third quarter, and the Hurricanes never recovered.

Also Friday night

Westside won the girls game 50-30 behind Mya Fords 11 points. Rutland was led by Bre’Asia Davis, who scored 15 points.

They said it

Grube on his team’s first-half woes: “We knew they would come out with a lot of energy with it being senior night, and we just did not match their intensity. I was a little surprised that we shot the ball so poorly because we had a great shootaround (Friday), but give Rutland credit. We just had one of those poor halves of basketball.”

Grube on the defensive change at the half: “When we get a chance to get Khavon out in front of the 1-3-1, it gives us a chance to trap, and it we really wanted to get him going. I think he ended up with a quiet 24, and we were able to turn it up offensively and defensively. I mean to beat a good basketball team when we struggled so much in the first half says a lot about this basketball team.”

Grube on Reed: “Samone has really picked it up in the last three weeks and we know he is a capable scorer. I thought he was huge for us in the third quarter, and we need that scoring from him if we are going to have the kind of season we want to have.”

What’s next?

Westside travels to Jackson on Saturday while Rutland gets ready for the region tournament.

This story was originally published February 3, 2017 at 10:46 PM with the headline "Westside takes down Rutland."