Westminster has no problem with Harvest

The Westminster Christian boys basketball made real quick work of neighboring Harvest Christian on Tuesday night.

The Warriors led by double figures 4½ minutes in, led by 20 less than 10 minutes into the game and cruised to a 50-26 victory over the Lions in second-day play at the 6th annual Warrior Thanksgiving Tournament at Westminster.

“We came out hard. We were pressing them, trying to get them uncomfortable. It worked,” Westminster senior Will Woodhouse said. “We kept the pressure up the whole half. It was really good for us.”

Woodhouse’s free-throw line jumper with 2:30 remaining in the first quarter gave the Warriors (2-0) a 10-0 lead. They led 12-0 before the Lions (0-2) scored on a Matt Borst layup.

A 3-point play from Colin Brandon with 6:02 remaining in the second quarter increased Westminster’s lead to 23-2. Harvest Christian, which turned the ball over on its first five possessions of the second quarter, was just 1-of-8 from the field with 12 turnovers in the opening 10 minutes.

“Turnovers again costs us early on in the game,” said Lions coach Jeff Boldog, whose team committed 10 turnovers in the first quarter of Monday’s loss to St. Edward. “We couldn’t get our offense going. “

Woodhouse, who also grabbed 9 rebounds, scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half. Colin Brandon, who finished with 20 points, had 8 at the break. The Warriors led by as many as 27, 31-4, in the opening half.

“It was a solid first half,” Westminster coach Bruce Firchau said. “The defense set the stage for the offense and we started clicking.”

The Warriors led by as many as 30 twice in the second half, including 38-8 with 3:21 remaining in the third quarter. Harvest Christian finally got into double figures with 2:16 remaining in the third.

Jeff Vislisel led the Lions with 16 points, 12 coming in the fourth quarter, and 11 rebounds.