Carver-Columbus edges Westside in Bear Brawl

WARNER ROBINS -- Stefan Harris scored 22 points to lead Carver-Columbus to a 73-69 win over Westside in the semifinals of the Bear Brawl on Saturday night at Houston County.

Jawon Pass added 21 points and 15 rebounds as Carver led from the opening tip and, despite a furious comeback by Westside, never relinquished the lead.

Carver dominated early, jumping to a quick 18-4 lead six minutes in, but Westside cut into the lead for the remainder of the half and cut the lead to one at 31-30 late in the half on a basket by Samone Reed, who had 12 points in the second quarter. But Carver increased the lead to 37-32 at the half when Harris hit a 3-ponter at the buzzer.

Carver again increased the lead at the beginning of the second half, outscoring Westside 13-6 in the first five minutes, but sophomore Khavon Moore kept the Seminoles in the game. After Carver's lead had grown to 50-38, Moore, who finished with 28 points, scored the final four points of the third quarter and the first seven points for Westside in the fourth quarter to cut Carver's lead to 56-53.

The Seminoles got it as close as 64-63 with 1:34 left in the game on a Brenden Anderson basket, but Carver made 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to hold on.

THREE WHO MATTERED

Moore: The 6-foot-7 sophomore with point guard skills was excellent once again, as he scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Westside. He was able to get to the paint off the dribble the entire night and got to the free throw line 16 times, converting 11.

Anderson: The Westside sophomore scored eight key points in crunch time to help keep his team in the game.

Pass: The Carver senior, who has signed to play football at Louisville, showed that he is every bit as talented on the basketball court with 21 points and 15 rebounds. After struggling at the line earlier, he hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final three minutes of the game.

TURNING POINTS

Westside's slow starts in both halves was a big key in the game. Carver started out 18-4 in the first quarter and 13-6 in the third quarter

Westside was 0-for-11 from the 3-point line in the second half and 3-for-22 in the game.

WORTH MENTIONING

Westside head coach Josh Grube had said earlier in the week that his team has a history of not playing well when they had to play two nights in a row. Although the Seminoles battled, they could never get over the hump Saturday.

THEY SAID IT

Grube on the loss: "I think that if we want to go where we want to go as a basketball team, which is to win region and play well in the state tournament, that we have to play much better when we play against a physical basketball team like Carver. I thought that once we got in the flow of the game we were OK, but we have got to do a better job with teams like Carver."

Grube on the improvement of Moore from last year: "He has improved so much that is almost hard to believe. Last year, he was a little one-dimensional and didn't shoot it real well, but this year he can do everything on the court. He is so unselfish that we want him to be a little more selfish at times."

This story was originally published December 20, 2015 at 12:21 AM.