WESTLAKE — The 17th ranked Westlake Rams held No. 1 Peabody’s top players in check early but the Warhorses broke the game open in the second half to win 86-54 in the regional round of the Class 3A playoffs.
Peabody’s Cedric Russell and Kevin Norman were limited to just 15 combined points in the first half. But Norman switched from wing to post in the second half to score 13 of his game-high 29 points in the third quarter and lead the Warhorses second half surge.
“Westlake did a great job on defense,” Peabody head coach Charles Smith said. “They were taking away my best two players, Norman and Russell.
“They pushed up on Russell and didn’t let him drive to the goal and it forced him to take the outside shot. With Kevin on the wing, he didn’t get good shots so we moved him in to the post and that is when the game really changed.”
Peabody (32-3) moves on to the quarterfinal round for the 12th consecutive year.
After a slow start, Westlake’s Reiko Johnson fired up the Rams with a three-pointer four minutes into the game that cut Peabody’s lead to 7-6. The Warhorses finished the first quarter on a 12-0 run and Melvion Flanagan hit three three-pointers early in the second quarter to put Peabody up 28-8 but the Rams didn’t fold.
“We came out and played a little skittish,” Westlake head coach Doug Morris said. “In the second quarter is where I thought that we played pretty well.
“We got over that it was Peabody and their size. That was what was hurting us the most. It wasn’t their shooting but the rebounding. When you are 6-5 and you have a 5-7 underneath you it is hard to box out and get rebounds.”
Junior London Vinson helped spark a 7-0 run for the Rams with a putback off an offensive rebound and a three-pointer. Seth Vinson’s shot in the lane cut Peabody’s lead to 30-13 but Westlake could never get any closer.
Eventually the Warhorse size advantage took its toll. Peabody out rebounded Westlake 23-14 and scored 18 points off offensive rebounds.
Russell finished with 12 points and Darius Smith nearly had a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
London Vinson led Westlake with 23 points and went 13-for-18 from the free throw line while Johnson finished with 15 points.
Westlake finishes the season 17-14 but returns its entire lineup next year.
“We played hard,” Morris said. “We were just a little short.
“I have all of them back next year. Hopefully they learn from this situation and we will be better prepared for next year.”
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