Khavon Moore, Westside edge Rutland

The Westside Seminoles improved to 3-1 in GHSA Region 2-AAA boys basketball action Tuesday with a 73-68 win over Rutland.

Khavon Moore had 17 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks to lead the way for Westside, while Jaikez Mann scored 23 for Rutland.

Westside (5-2 overall) used balanced scoring and constant pressure on the ball to grab a 40-24 halftime lead. The Seminoles forced 20 turnovers in the first half alone and 32 for the game while having 10 players score in the first half. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes had only four players score in the first half and shot only 3-of-14 from the 3-point line.

Rutland played its best basketball in the third quarter, outscoring Westside 25-13 to make it a 53-49 game and grabbing a two-point lead at 66-64 on a 3-pointer by Lamontis Moore midway through the fourth quarter. But Westside outscored Rutland 9-2 the rest of the way to get the win.

Westside made 8-of-9 free throws in the final three minutes, while Rutland converted only 2-of-6.

THREE WHO MATTERED

Moore: The Westside sophomore came into the game averaging 24 points a game and only scored 17 on Tuesday, but he added 13 rebounds and six assists. With the game on the line, he came up with two huge blocks in the final two minutes of the game to go along with three rebounds.

Ben Elder: The Westside shooting guard was in foul trouble for most of the game but hit a huge 3-pointer late in the game to give his team the lead at 69-67.

Mann: Had three 3-pointers in the second half to help Rutland stay in the game.

OBSERVATIONS

Gerimie Mitchell: Just off the football field, the 5-foot-6 guard scored eight points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Seminoles.

Turnovers: The game was up and down the entire night, which led to some entertaining basketball but also led to a high number of turnovers. Rutland had 32 turnovers, while Westside managed to win despite turning the ball over 35 times.

THEY SAID IT

Westside head coach Josh Grube on letting Rutland back in the game after leading by 16 points: "It is totally unacceptable to play like we did in the third quarter, but I have to give some of the credit to Rutland and the way they played in the third quarter. But we have to be able to finish people when we have that kind of lead at the half."

Grube on the free-throw shooting down the stretch: "We work on it all the time, but we were very good when we had to be in this game. We know that early region games at home have to be wins for us, so we are thankful to get out of here with the win."

Moore on the importance of winning Tuesday night: "It felt like it was a must-win game, especially after we had such a big lead on them. We expected them to come back on us because we always play close games with them."

ALSO

The Rutland girls improved to 2-2 in Region 2-AAA with a 41-38 win over Westside. Breanca Davis poured in 25 points and hit 5-of-8 free throws down the stretch to key the win. Niaira Dawson and Acacia Ricks both scored 10 for Westside, which fell to 1-3 in the region.

WHAT'S NEXT

Westside travels to Jordan on Friday night, while Rutland travels to Spencer.

This story was originally published December 9, 2015 at 12:57 AM with the headline "Khavon Moore, Westside edge Rutland ."